Nationals leader David Littleproud and the Coalition have committed to shutting down the development of a contentious offshore wind farm off the south coast of New South Wales.
The federal government have given the green light to a massive offshore wind farm stretching along the southern New south Wales coastline.
The proposed area covers more than 1,400 kilometres and extends offshore of Wombarra in the north to Kiama in the south.
It will involve the construction of 300 industrial wind turbines.
Environmental activists who are against the farm say it is in the migration path of up to 40,000 whales.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced the 1,022 square kilometres project – stretching from Wombarra to Kiama – over the weekend.
Nationals leader David Littleproud told the Daily Telegraph on Monday a Coalition government would not go ahead with the project.
“For the people of the Illawarra, this next election is their only opportunity to stop this project,” Mr Littleproud said.
“If Stephen Jones is re-elected and Anthony Albanese is re-elected then this will be constructed – it will buy them another three years.”
Nationals leader David Littleproud has said the next election will be the “only opportunity” to stop the offshore wind farm’s development. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire
The project has faced backlash from some local communities over concerns the turbines would be visually intrusive and harmful to wildlife, fishing lines and shipping routes.
Both the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and Climate Council have supported the farm as a viable alternative to non-renewable energy sources.
Due to a significant public response, community consultations were extended last year – forcing Labor to move the wind farm 20km further offshore.
At a press conference on Saturday, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said: “One of the concerns raised was … to ensure that that visual amenity is protected.”
“By moving the zone 20km away, that achieves that outcome. On most days, you won’t see wind turbines at 20km away.”
The proposed South Coast wind farm has been moved from 10km to 20km off shore in response to local communities’ concerns. Picture: Supplied
Mr Bowen has also said he had “taken into account environmental concerns and shipping issues to ensure a balanced proposal”.
The government has reduced the overall size of the wind zone from the originally planned 1,461km2 to 1,022km2.
“Even though we’ve made the wind zone smaller and further away, it will still generate up to just under three gigawatts, which is enough for 1.8 million homes,” Mr Bowen said.
He explained the project would not be ready by 2030 and was not part of the government’s 2030 climate change targets.
“We’re not going to see wind turbines next week, next month or next year. There’s a long way to go, but it’s the important step,” he said.
Labor’s plans include 300 wind turbines, which would be manufactured in Australia and create thousands of jobs.
Mr Bowen said the farm would create 9,000 jobs involved in steelmaking, 1,700 jobs in construction and about 800 ongoing jobs in the Illawarra.
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Opposition leader Peter Dutton criticised the Albanese Government’s handling of the wind farms in an interview with Sky News Australia on Sunday.
“There are all sorts of concerns from environmental groups, from tourist groups, from fishing groups… they are opposed to it and fiercely opposed to it,” he said.
“There was no proper community consultation which really made the local residents angry in the first instance and I think Chris Bowen, again, has botched this.”
The Albanese Government will face a challenge to get the wind farm developed following a newly-released news poll which shows Peter Dutton has overtaken Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as the preferred leader for the first time.