Farmers and landowners have gathered outside the Queensland parliament to protest the state’s large-scale renewables projects amid concerns about land grabs and environmental damages.
The “Rally Against Reckless Renewables” protest is the latest action by farmers, landholders and community groups to voice their opposition against the state’s ambitious renewable plans, which boasted tens of billions of dollars worth of investment.
The expanded project is expected to have a generation capacity of up to 2,000 megawatts and will power 1.4 million homes.
These two massive projects are part of Queensland’s $62 billion energy and jobs plan designed to help the state replace 70 percent of its power grid with renewable energy by 2032.
The Protest
According to a video from federal MP Michelle Landry on social media, dozens of protestors were seen holding banners and posters near the parliament building with slogans criticising renewable projects for their environmental damages.One of the speakers said her community was visited by a Queensland government-owned energy corporation, telling them that they might build a transmission line over their properties.
“They started to tell people there is a chance that they are going to have a gigantic 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission line and the towers that go with them outside their homes.”
The speaker said the announcement had brought mental and emotional anguish to their community.
She also noted that her community had held meetings and decided to take action to “defend” their homes, which she described as a marathon fight against the state government’s policy.
Doug Cannon from Save Eungella, an allied community group concerned about the environmental impacts of renewable projects, warned that if a pumped hydro facility was built in the Eungella region, the waterways hosting native animals would be destroyed.
He also said local residents were stunned when the projects were approved.
“It just caught us all out of the blue, and it’s just shattered our community right from when it was announced,” Mr. Cannon said in comments obtained by AAP.
National Party Politicians Join the Protest
Key National Party members attended the protest and showed their support to farmers, landowners and community members affected by Queensland’s renewable projects.Nationals federal leader David Littleproud criticised the Queensland government’s plan to achieve 80 percent renewables by 2035, calling it “reckless.”
“Men and women will bear that cost with their land being consumed with solar panels and wind turbines,” he said.
“Taking out prime agricultural land, taking away our food security, but also taking away remnant vegetation and destroying remnant vegetation.”
At the same time, Mr. Littleproud called for a senate inquiry into the damage the projects may cause to agricultural land in the state.
The call was echoed by Capricornia MP Michelle Landry, who also appeared at the protest.
“Families right across regional Queensland are facing an uncertain future. I am standing by our regional communities who are just wanting common sense to prevail.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Queensland Energy Minister Mick De Brenni said the state government would work with communities to reduce any impact on wildlife and agricultural land.
“Not acting on climate change would leave future generations forced to face unprecedented natural disasters and would destroy farmland, rainforests and animal habitats,” the spokesperson said in comments obtained by AAP.
