Nationals Leader David Littleproud met with anti-wind zone protesters at Wollongong Harbour. Photos: Jen White.
A future Coalition government would not allow a wind energy zone to be developed off the Illawarra coast, Nationals Leader David Littleproud said in Wollongong on Monday (17 June).
To the cheers of a group of anti-wind zone protesters at Belmore Basin, Mr Littleproud said the Coalition would stop wind farms from going ahead.
“There will be no wind zone, there is a better way to do this. Make no mistake, we’re going to live up to our international commitments, but we’re not going to tear away your economy, your environment and tear up the social cohesion of this great community,” he said.
Mr Littleproud and NSW Nationals Senator Ross Cadell visited the region following the weekend declaration by Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen of a 1022 square km wind zone area, 20 km off the coast.
The announcement has renewed opposition to the plan from community groups such as the Illawarra Chapter of Responsible Future, which says it is prepared for a “long fight at all stages of this project”.
Responsible Future Illawarra president Jenny Cullen said locals were still against the project.
“We still don’t know what the impact will be on the marine ecosystem, our community deserves due diligence, particularly when the stakes include the pristine waters of our whale migration routes, the livelihoods of our fishing and tourism operators and the integrity of our coastal lifestyle,” Ms Cullen said.
Mr Littleproud said his party was not against renewable energy, “but it should be in the right place, such as solar on rooftops in the cities”.
“We have time to pause and to plan and get this right. Rather than destroy the very thing we are trying to protect – the environment – we can also safely adopt nuclear energy as a baseload zero emissions power source that can maintain and grow our standard of living in Australia,” he said.
“I just say to Anthony Albanese and to Chris Bowen, stop, listen, learn and go back to the planning board because we can do this a better way, one which doesn’t put all our energy eggs in one basket, that doesn’t tear away our sovereign capability to manufacture in this country, that actually transitions some of our coal-fired power stations to nuclear power plants with gas and carbon capture storage, which is zero emissions.
“Why don’t we give priority to where they can make a difference and give energy independence to businesses and households. That’s rooftops where the concentration of power and population is and that alleviates the need for the 28,000 kilometres of transmission lines that you’re going to have to pay for. So this is a real, clear choice.”
He ruled out the Illawarra as a base for any future nuclear power site and said such plants would be based where there were existing coal-fired power sites.
“We want to sensibly transition those coal jobs into nuclear jobs that will give us the baseload power. What we’re missing in this all-renewables approach is that we won’t have the baseload power to keep manufacturing going in this country,” he said.
“You’ve got to address the fundamentals and that’s having an energy mix. It’s not saying we won’t have renewables but we need to have baseload power that will support it, that fixes the fundamentals.”
Mr Littleproud was joined by Illawarra professional fisherman Mike Horne, who has been in the industry for almost 25 years. Among his concerns is Mr Bowen’s announcement that the wind zone would be pushed back, from 10 to 20 km off the coast.
“I’ve reinvested heavily into offshore fishing outside the 10 kilometre zone,” he said.
“I had no idea he was going to move the goalposts to 20 kilometres, so that reinvestment now has to be looked at and hopefully we can reassess where we’re going with our business.
“The fact that he said, ‘yes, commercial fishing won’t be affected’ and now he’s just placed these from 10 kilometres to 20 kilometres – what I’ve reinvested in, it ain’t gonna work.
“I may lose out on that front and that disheartens me. What do you tell your son? You’ve invested heavily, is there going to be a future for him and his family on the back of 25 years in one of the best fisheries in the world of rock lobsters? It is so disheartening.”
Mr Horne said he would continue fighting to make sure the Illawarra’s pristine coastline would not be ruined by “such a monstrosity”.
Mr Littleproud said he and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton would be “upfront and honest” about the Coalition’s energy policies when they were released.
“There’ll be a significant plan about how this country can have a sensible energy policy without destroying these people’s lives,” he said.
“You will see a detailed energy policy that goes to the heart of not just keeping the lights on for Australia but keeping industry going.”
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