David Littleproud, Party leader of the National Party of Australia, has claimed Australia doesn’t need “large-scale industrial windfarms” like the planned offshore zone south of Sydney.
Littleproud also said that the Coalition will “cap” federal government investment into renewable energy if elected.
The Nationals leader visited Wollongong on Monday, where he promised the opposition would instead offer a “calm” and “methodical” energy pathway to net zero by 2050.
According to reports, Littleproud offered no details of the Coalition energy plan, only conceding “it will take a little longer to get there”.
Recall that the Albanese government on Saturday gave the green light to a 1,022 sq km area, 20-km off the Illawarra coast, in the next stage to become the country’s fourth dedicated windfarm zone. While the development over the weekend was welcomed by a number of groups, some in the community have continued to oppose offshore windfarms due to potential environmental, economic and social impacts.
The Coalition is yet to detail its full energy plan, which will include a mix of nuclear, coal, gas and renewables. Littleproud said a Coalition government would result in “no windfarm” for the Illawarra.
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“We want to send the investment signals that there is a cap on where [the Coalition] will go with renewables and where we will put them,” he said. “The Coalition isn’t against renewables, but renewables should be in an environment they can’t destroy. Why don’t we give priority to where they can make a difference and give energy independence to businesses and households, which is on rooftops where the concentration of power and population is?”
Asked why the Nationals supported an offshore windfarm in Victoria’s Gippsland, but not in the Illawarra, Littleproud said: “They are fixed in Gippsland, this is floating.”
He said, unlike the Illawarra zone, few people lived near the Gippsland site, “and the transmission lines that are required aren’t as necessary”.
Earlier on Monday , Littleproud told ABC radio the Coalition’s energy policy will show investors Australia doesn’t need “large-scale industrial windfarms, whether they be offshore or onshore”.
“From what you’ll see in our energy mix, we won’t need large-scale industrial renewable projects. So that’s in essence where we’ll get to and be very clear and upfront and we are committed to that pathway. But it won’t be a linear pathway that you’re experiencing at the moment,” he said.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
