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Tragedy of the turbines

Destroying old-growth native forests is no way to save the planet

Our friends at Rainforests Reserves Australia are seeking urgent intervention from Environment Minister Tania Plibersek to halt construction of the Lotus Creek wind turbine development in Central Queensland.

When you watch this recent drone forest of construction underway you’ll know why.

Some 310 hectares of old-growth forest in the Connors Range adjacent to the Glencoe State Forest is scheduled for demolition.

The Lotus Creek Wind Farm is 100 per cent funded by the Queensland Government and is supported by the Commonwealth. The project was rejected by the Morrison government in 2020 because of the unacceptable impact on native flora and fauna. That decision was overturned by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.

The environmental damage that will be caused by the construction of the Lotus Creek Wind Farm is well documented. It is rich in koalas. Researches counted 138 greater gliders during the environmental assessment. The old-growth trees provide hollow dens for the creatures to rest during the day. The area provides rich habitat for Koalas and Squatter pigeons and a refuge for the Powerful Owl and White-Throated Needletail, all of which are classified as vulnerable.

These facts were documented in a report that landed on Tanya Plibersek’s desk shortly after she became Environment Minister in 2022. The ecological assessment report classified them as Matters of National Environmental Significance under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, giving Plibersek the power to block the project as her Coalition predecessor Sussan Ley already had. Yet Plibersek overturned Ley’s decision and sanctioned the destruction of more remnant bushland we an ill-afford to lose.

Rainforest Reserves is one of the few environmental organisations prepared to resist this nonsense. They are currently involved in a court battle to stop Andrew Forrest’s Upper Burdekin wind project.

Legal challenges are expensive and Forrest has deep pockets. Rainforest Reserves is raising money from donations to fight the case.

Support them if you can with a tax-deductible donation by clicking here.

The Lotus Creek site spans 48,000 hectares, an extensive area that will sliced up by many kilometres of wide, heavy duty access roads. The surveys conducted were inadequate, and unlikely to have provided a thorough assessment of threatened species due to the sheer size of the project and the limited time available for evaluation.

The disruption caused by industrialization will threaten the survival of koalas and other wildlife, pushing them towards unavoidable extinction. This project represents a drastic shift in land use, transitioning from a natural habitat to a landscape dominated by high-voltage power lines, heavy machinery, and the constant movement of haulage trucks. Such an alteration not only endangers local ecosystems but also threatens the delicate balance that supports a diverse range of wildlife.

It is just one example of a so-called energy transition policy that is totally out of control.

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