Labor Stands by Offshore Wind Farm as Opposition Pledges to Axe It

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the project would spur jobs growth in the region.

Thousands of local residents attend a rally at Flagstaff Point protesting against a proposed offshore wind turbine farm to be located 10km off the Illawarra coast, Wollongong, NSW in Australia on Oct. 29, 2023. AAP Image/Dean Lewins

A day after federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton pledged to rescind the proposed Port Stephens Offshore Wind Zone if elected, Labor shot back, saying the Liberal Party had “no plan” for the people of Hunter.

On July 12, 2023, Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen designated a 1,854-square-kilometre area off the Hunter region in New South Wales, north of Sydney, suitable for a major offshore wind farm.

The declared Offshore Electricity Infrastructure framework paves the way for the development.

“Peter Dutton has no plan for Hunter jobs and can’t be trusted to look after the energy workers in the region,” Bowen told The Epoch Times.

Bowen said the offshore wind farm could spark future onshore manufacturing relying on local expertise and infrastructure.

“Should the project go ahead, it would employ around 3,000 workers during construction and create around 200–300 permanent local jobs,” Bowen said.

“It would inject development expenditure worth hundreds of millions of dollars into the Hunter region and leverage existing heavy industry,” he added.

The Labor minister also said it could generate enough power to keep the lights on for 1.2 million homes or two Tomago smelters.

Dutton’s Pledge on Wind Farm

Dutton’s pledge is part of the Liberal-National Coalition’s pitch to voters in Labor-held strongholds who are unhappy with renewable projects in their area.

Another electorate of contention is Cunningham, which covers the city of Wollongong south of Sydney, whose residents have protested in their thousands against a planned offshore wind farm.

Regarding the Hunter project, Dutton accused Labor of ignoring the concerns of community groups.

“Locals treasure their waterways and fear the damage this project could inflict on their environment and livelihoods,” Dutton added.

He also criticised Labor’s community engagement process, describing it as flawed and divisive.

Labor Criticises Coalition’s Wind Energy Reversal

Meanwhile, Labor also said the Coalition had flip-flopped on wind energy policy, accusing Dutton of undermining initiatives the Liberal Party once championed.

“It was the Morrison government that established Australia’s offshore wind industry—by developing and passing the legislation which sets up the consultation and regulatory frameworks that Peter Dutton is now trashing,” a Labor insider remarked.

He questioned Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor’s stance, given his role as energy minister during the Morrison government.

“What does his shadow treasurer think, who was, after all, the one who drafted these laws as energy minister? Did this key member of his front bench get it all wrong?”

In his second reading speech at the time, Taylor highlighted strong investment interest in Australia’s offshore wind sector.

“Now, instead, he is shadow treasurer overseeing the books of the yet-to-be-revealed costings of a government-owned and run nuclear industry,” the insider added.

Taylor’s commitment to offshore wind included working with the New South Wales government to fast-track designated zones, particularly in Hunter and Wollongong.