Gympie council delays vote on South Burnett push for renewables

A Qld council’s push for a halt on large-scale renewable projects in its area until tight rules are put in place has hit a snag, with a neighbouring council unsupportive of the request.

South Burnett Council’s push (Mayor Kathy Duff inset left) for a halt on large-scale renewable projects in its area until tight new rules are put in place has hit a snag, with Gympie Regional Council (Mayor Glen Hartwig inset right) saying the plan was lacking detail and may have unintended consequences.

A Wide Bay council’s push for a moratorium on renewable energy projects in the region amid concerns over their impacts has been challenged amid fears the proposal itself was short on detail.

Gympie Regional Council voted on Wednesday to kick the can down the road on a pitch by the neighbouring South Burnett Regional Council to put a moratorium on renewable energy developments across the wider region.

The South Burnett council had proposed the moratorium earlier in May.

The Wide Bay Burnett is identified by the state government as a renewable energy zone and potential spot for major investment.

Numerous solar farms have been built, or proposed for construction, across the South Burnett and billions of dollars in renewable energy projects are still in the pipeline across the Wide Bay, including a planned $14 billion pumped hydro plant at Borumba Dam, and a $2 billion wind farm at the Tuan State Forest between Gympie and Maryborough.

The Gympie council had been asked to support the motion through the Wide Bay Burnett Region of Councils, a peak representational body created to advocate for the interests of the more than 48,000sq km area north and west of the Sunshine Coast.

In mid-May the South Burnett council proposed the moratorium on all large-scale solar, wind, pumped hydro, battery storage and high-voltage transmission lines until stringent conditions were met.

These included securing a bond for the project’s decommissioning, banning any projects from being built on prime agricultural land, enforcing regulations similar to those across the farming and mining sectors, and the creation of a code of conduct governing how these developers interacted with affected communities.

South Burnett Council’s push (Mayor Kathy Duff inset left) for a halt on large-scale renewable projects in its area until tight new rules are put in place has hit a snag, with Gympie Regional Council (Mayor Glen Hartwig inset right) saying the plan was lacking detail and may have unintended consequences.

South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff said these projects were causing “significant concern” within the region’s communities when she tabled the motion, which called for wider WBBROC support.

However, Gympie councillors slammed the brakes on their support amid concerns the moratorium would have unintended consequences, including putting key environmental studies which might otherwise torpedo projects anyway on ice indefinitely.

Mayor Glen Hartwig said he understood there were “definite concerns” in the community about these projects and their impacts, and the region was “doing the heavy lifting” for South East Queensland’s energy needs, but worried the motion was a “kneejerk political response”.

It was one such environmental study which proved the death knell for the controversial Traveston Dam project in 2009.

Mr Hartwig said there needed to be a distinction in the motion between the proposed Borumba Dam project, and other solar and wind projects.

A $14 billion proposed pumped hydro plant at Borumba Dam is among a string of planned renewable projects across the Wide Bay Burnett, which has been identified by the state government as a potential location for significant green energy development.

A lack of information about the South Burnett’s motion, which was asked to be supported ahead of the next WBBROC meeting on May 31 – only two days after the Wednesday meeting – created problems too.

Several councillors said more information was needed before any decision could be made.

Mick Curran voted to delay a decision, but argued the council would be better off resolving the matter now.

Mr Curran said it was a “good bit of work by the South Burnett to drag us into it”.

“It’s probably something that we don’t need to be in,” he said, given as the issues in the South Burnett were different to those in Gympie.

Rather than delaying something which could hang around “for 12 months”, councillors should simply say yes or no now, he said.

The motion to delay any decision was supported by a eight-to-one vote with Allona Lahn the lone dissenter.

Mrs Lahn said the motion was about a “show of force” with WBBROC and should be supported.

“I think the people of the region have spoken,” she said.

WBBROC includes the Fraser Coast Regional Council, North Burnett Regional Council, and Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council.

Bundaberg Regional Council left the group in 2021.

Originally published as Gympie council delays vote on South Burnett push for renewables