LNP halt on renewables without a plan risks Queensland’s energy future

Conservationists have renewed calls for the State LNP Government to provide an energy plan for Queensland's future, amid reports that Jarrod Bleijie has ordered work to be stopped on renewable energy assessments.

Queensland's Planning Department has been directed to stop work on three wind developments that were referred to the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) in November (Wongalee in North Queensland and Theodore and Bungaban in southern Queensland). Jarrod Bleijie has also issued a call in notice for Moonlight Range wind farm near Rockhampton.

Queensland Conservation Council Energy Strategist Clare Silcock says

The LNP Government was elected on a promise to Queenslanders that they would take action to secure an affordable, renewable energy future. The new Government is only two weeks away from 100 days in office, and they have not delivered a plan for Queensland's energy future.

Last week exposed the unreliability of Queensland’s ageing coal fired power stations when a unit at Callide power station went offline during a heat wave. This shows that money cannot fix the fundamental problem that we have an ageing, increasingly unreliable coal fleet. We need a strong plan to replace our coal fired power stations with renewable energy backed by storage.

We have been calling for improvements in Queensland’s planning regulations to make sure nature and communities are protected and restored as renewable energy is built. But we’re very concerned that the LNP Government is slamming the brakes on new projects without a clear plan to improve these regulations.

We have no clarity on how long the projects will be put on hold by the Department for, or what standards they will be assessed under. The LNP made no changes to the draft Renewables Regulatory Framework issued in September 2024. They provided no more detail on how impact assessment will be implemented.

We need the LNP Government to come up with a plan to meet the renewable energy and climate targets to give industry and communities certainty.

We know that renewable energy is bringing down power prices for all Queenslanders, as well as emissions. We need a plan to keep building renewable energy, in a way that benefits nature and communities, not simply slamming the brakes on industry in Queensland.

Media Contact

Ellie McLachlan, Media Manager, 0407 753 830