Council
22 March, 2024
Britnell to fight offshore zone
MEMBER for South West Coast Roma Britnell has this week expressed concerns over the offshore windfarm zone in the Southern Ocean.
Ms Britnell said South West Coast residents had “every right not to trust the Labor Government” given its recent handling of the impacts of offshore wind on marine life in the area.
She said Jacinta Allan’s announcement that renewable energy projects would be eligible for an accelerated planning pathway under the Development Facilitation Program (DFP) is cause for concern.
“The recent announcement of the offshore windfarm zone in the Southern Ocean by Federal Minister for Energy, Chris Bowen, will see renewable energy projects occurring off the coast of Warrnambool and Port Fairy,” Ms Britnell said.
“There are now fears community members will not have their voices heard, with projects under the DFP not facing a planning panel process or allowing third-party appeals to be raised at VCAT.”
Ms Britnell believes this move is an “affront to our community” and the right to have a say about what gets built in its backyard.
“We support renewables, but this move by Labor is designed to ram through approval of offshore windfarms along our precious coastline,” she said.
“In Gippsland, the State Labor Government was prepared to ride roughshod over the environment where a protected Ramsar wetland is located. We will now see them do the same to our precious whale nursery near Warrnambool and Port Fairy.
“Despite our electorate having far more wind farms than anywhere else in the state, the government continues to act against the wishes of the local community and against the interest of the local environment for purely ideological reasons.
“I will stand side-by-side with the South-West Coast community, and we will fight the state government against any inappropriate windfarm developments, on or offshore, to protect our precious environment”.
