The Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, is assessing the final Public Environment Report of the Chalumbin Wind Farm.
QCC is hosting this site for CAFNEC, who is representing a region where the Chalumbin wind farm is proposed to clear more than 1,000 hectares of threatened species habitat and some important Wet Sclerophyll Forest directly adjacent to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
We need the Government to deliver better planning for renewable energy and nature, not approve projects like this.
To secure a safe climate we need to rapidly reduce carbon emissions from our energy supply, which will require building a lot of wind and solar farms across Queensland.
However, we also need to preserve our biodiversity and threatened species for a safe climate too. Unfortunately our current planning, environment and energy laws are not set up to promote strategic development and protect nature. That means projects like the Chalumbin Wind farm being proposed in a heavily vegetated landscape, essential to threatened species and in close proximity to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. No amount of minimising, offsetting, rehabilitation, will account for poorly placed, and poorly planned development.
Chalumbin wind farm will have significant impacts on a broad diversity of Matters of National Environmental Significance. Better coordinated development alternatives to this wind farm have not been evaluated on a state and regional level. There are alternative sites where wind farms can be developed on already cleared land. Call on Hon Minister Minister Plibersek to reject this proposal and accelerate planning reform we need to support the regenerative energy future we all want.