Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was greeted by angry farmers last week in regional New England who say the building of transmission infrastructure—amid the net zero push—will impact agricultural land.
Mr. Albanese, along with New South Wales Labor Premier Chris Minns, and Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, gathered at Tamworth Townhall for The Daily Telegraph’s annual Bush Summit.
However, the leaders were met by graziers and landholders on Aug. 11 who say there was a lack of consultation over the building of projects like large-scale wind turbine and solar panel farms.
“We’ve been trying to engage with government for a couple of years now and every time we engage with them they just tell us, they don’t talk, they don’t discuss, they don’t consult,” said Ian McDonald, a grazier from Walcha, in an interview with The Epoch Times on Aug. 13.
“They have these pseudo-consultation meetings in town halls etc. where they have all their people come up from Sydney and elsewhere. They just don’t engage, they tell us what they’re going to do and that’s what they consider to be consultation,” he said.
Mr. McDonald said the expedited net zero transition could threaten rural livelihoods.
“This country relies heavily on the bush, on farmers to produce food for the cities, and if they disrupt the supply chains here in the bush, it will ultimately affect national security I believe,” Mr. McDonald said.
“I don’t agree with renewables initiatives at all because there’s so much damage involved and it causes so much pain where they want to put them and that’s always in regional areas.
“The energy and the C02 used to build any of these wind turbines and solar panel components takes up so much more than what they’ll ever save in terms of C02, and of course, the other major issue with all of this is waste management [for wind turbines and solar panels]. There’s absolutely no waste management plan in place.”
Wind Farm Project Dividing Local Communities
One project of contention for New England locals is the upcoming construction of the Winterbourne Wind Farm.The proposed project, situated just outside of Walcha, consists of up to 119 wind turbines, which are set to generate 2,100,000 megawatt hours (MWh) annually in total.
The proposed wind farm, of which Danish renewable energy company Vestas is the majority shareholder, has polarised members of local communities.
Proponents argue the projects will make the region a pioneer of sustainable development, while detractors say it will impact the region’s arable agricultural land.
The proposal for Winterbourne is currently undergoing an environmental assessment with construction set to commence in late 2024.
Local Activism to Continue
It is likely activism opposing net zero initiatives will continue within the New England Region, with a number of movements forming.John Peatfield, a vet from Yooralla and member of Responsible Energy Development for New England (ReD4NE) said his organisation will apply a “shut the gate” policy.
“It basically means that those who are following that policy, those of us who are against it, are not going to allow access to EnergyCo onto our land,” Mr. Peatfield told ADH TV on Aug. 11.
“We feel that the bush has been shafted by Macquarie Street [the seat of government in New South Wales] when this was designed. There was no regard for people or place or agriculture or environment.”
Mr. Peatfield also said the push for more renewable energy will have a counter-intuitive impact on the environment.
“They’re destroying the environment to supposedly save the environment. Australia’s got around five percent of arable land. If you overlay from northern Queensland to southern Victoria the renewable energy industrialisation, sits right over most of that four percent of arable land. We have food production and fiber production, all being compromised.”
Albanese Backs Renewable Energy
Prime Minister Albanese is adamant his government is taking the right steps to ensure development does not encroach on agricultural productivity, saying he had spoken with protestors.“We had a really respectful discussion and a really constructive discussion. The people I met with were certainly not opposed to renewable energy. What they wanted was to make sure there was proper consultation, that every factor was taken into account, including ensuring that prime agricultural land was not adversely affected,” Mr. Albanese said.
Mr. Albanese is also certain renewable energy will yield a net benefit for regional Australia, citing delayed action on climate change as a more damaging policy decision for agricultural industries and communities.
“Climate change is real. Climate change will impact our farmers and our agricultural produce. Now we need to look at ways therefore to drive down emissions, and to do so in a way with renewable energy that provides economic returns to communities.”
