Machine for shaping wood

SHOCK! The Plan to partially surround the Wet Tropics with a giant steel ring could spark an extinction crisis

LEXY MARQUIS

IN what has been termed a potential 'Greenwashed Ecoside' by conservation groups, a shocking number of unimaginably sizeable industrial wind turbines and solar farms are raising alarm bells among conservationists. With sites totalling 1,000's of hectares proposed or underway, including areas of intact forests and fragile, irreplaceable ecosystems.

Carolyn Emms of Rainforest Reserves Australia says 'There could soon be a 'ring of steel' on the Atherton Tablelands with six other renewable developments in the wings besides Chalumbin.

Mt Emerald (Walkamin) and Windy Hill (Ravenshoe) wind developments are already operational. If all approvals are granted, that's a total of nine industrial energy developments installed in this uniquely bio-diverse region.'

There are concerns the Wet Tropics and World Heritage areas would potentially be surrounded in parts. Natural forest country forever changed into an industrial area where corridors abutting World Heritage Areas (that should be conserved, not industrialised) could be threatened.

Questions abound about deforestation, land-use conflicts, massive metal megaliths, wildlife destruction and extinction, changes to microclimates, erosion, pollution, waterways risks, inaudible lowfrequency infrasound, electromagnetic waves and barotrauma that could negatively affect all types of wildlife are just some of the debates taking place. 'The Jirrbal people want the World Heritage area extended. We think these areas that adjoin national parks should be listed as national parks; they must be protected under World Heritage also. The government has made a mistake, and they need to fix it now before it's too late.

The area is culturally and spiritually significant to the Jirrbal people, known as people of the rainforest. The Ancestors still reside in the forests, and the majority of Jirrbal people want to see this sacred site protected not just now but into perpetuity. To carve up and fragment this landscape is not acceptable now or ever. The cultural values of Chalumbin are extremely important, including connection to land, the eagles, animals, their dances, craft skills, language, sorry business and stories they pass to the next generation,' she said.

Kennedy MP Bob Katter is tenacious in his opposition to the Chalumbin Windfarm and the Upper Burdekin Windfarm, which he says will see trees cut down beside the jungle and will act as bird-killing machines. What is our natural wonderland will be turned into an industrial wasteland. Wind turbines also lock us into expensive, intermittent power. While South-East Queensland is on cheap reliable coal fire powered, we will be paying more for our electricity in North Queensland.

CCRC Councillor Barry Barnes spoke to the Wet Tropic Times. He was not speaking on behalf of the council but expressed his personal views and said, 'We don't need all this extra power. All we have to do is lift the output from our existing one, which is up the Tully Valley. We have a clean green power station already, which could be increased no worries or duplicated for very little cost, as the study has already been done. I do not want even one of these wind farms personally. I agree with Mr Katter. We don't want any wind farms here.'

Carolyn Emms says 'Renewable energy corporations have no social, cultural or environmental licence to destroy the ecosystems we value. This has not been appropriately scrutinised by the public, and the public doesn't entirely even know about it. It is going to do nothing for Climate Change except accelerate it and destroy the environment. Mark my words.

In a separate comment, Energy Grid Alliance said, 'The transition to renewable energy generation in the name of climate change must not degrade the environment and biodiversity we are trying to protect.'

Bob Katter said the major parties were driving the solar and wind farm madness with their push for net-zero emissions by 2050. 'We produce nothing in Queensland except the three C's: coal, cane and cattle. Now the 2050 plan means the shutdown of those three industries.' 'Building wind farms beside the jungle from west of Ingham to the west of Cairns will be disastrous. Do you want an intermittent power supply? If the wind's not blowing, your TV and aircon will go off… (1200 MW at 30 per cent reliability). Each year, they will produce the same amount of energy as Queensland's smallest coal power station at Tarong North (443 MW of baseload power).

So, why are we clearing this important habitat and land for no gain? Do you want the most expensive electricity on earth? Existing coal-fired power costs $25 a MWh, and the Finkel Report says it costs $90 a MWh hour for solar and for wind.'

I am not against all wind farms. At Hughenden, you can build one at 1000 metres above sea level, where there are no trees or abundant birdlife. The wind there is also far more reliable. It's a great idea there… There is nothing more sensible than the proposal in Hughenden, which is at a super high altitude with negligible birdlife and serious wind availability. But you're not doing it in forest country. No way, hosay, he said.

Kennedy MP Mr Katter said, 'I, like my million-fellow North Queenslanders, have a love of our birdlife. My little ten-acre backyard in Charters Towers regularly sees around 20 varieties of birds, from the beautiful rainbow lorikeet to the swaggering magpie, the exotic blue-helmeted honey-wing, or the sneaky old bowerbird. These exciting little north Australians will be hacked to pieces by these windmills.'

Mr Katter said 'Far North Queenslanders should be giving it to the State Government for allowing corporations, some foreign-owned, to build wind farms beside the world heritage rainforests and jungles of the region…. We are a bunch of mugs for not giving it to the Queensland government.

They've cut down more trees than any State Government in Australia, and they're doing it to deliver intermittent, super-expensive power.'

Speaking on PML Sky News, Mr Katter said, 'Someone sold 40% of the electricity in Australia to China, there is a name for that sort of thing, and I think you all know what the name is. But if they close three power stations, you're on intermittent power, well, I hope you can get the sun to shine at night.'

Carolyn Emms of Rainforest Reserves Australia said, 'The economic value of destroying ecosystems will have farreaching effects more than anything you could ever imagine. Think about the tourism, farming, bird watchers and economic ramifications.'

It will destroy future opportunities with the land. Each Cassowary brings $1.7 million into our economy in terms of tourism. Tourists do not come here to see industrial wind turbines.

We love this place. We adore it.'

Queensland Renewable Energy Zones (QREZ) is a coordinated pipeline of large scale connected systems of renewable energy generators and energy storage systems to connect to high voltage lines, aimed to deliver on the Queensland Government's goal of obtaining 50% renewable energy by 2030 with 20% of Queensland electricity already sourced from renewables.

These QREZ are divided into three zones, Northern, Central and Southern. The Northern Zone stretches from Mackay to the north of Cairns and out west to Barcaldine and includes Far North Queensland and the Wet Tropics and covers 22 Local Government Areas.

The QRES Community Consultation document lists' four local benefits principles as being: genuine and ongoing engagement, shared benefits with communities, buy local, build local, local jobs and secure work.' and 'Genuine and ongoing engagement to Demonstrate a tailored, long term and inclusive approach to engaging with the community to help ensure QREZ development 'involves' rather than 'happens' to local communities.

Community voices should have an opportunity to be heard, and their interests and concerns must be listened to and mitigated where possible.' It also states that 'Community benefits and [d] elivering local benefits from renewable energy opportunities is critical for maintaining the social licence' the document also reads.

However, concerned people in the community say they are not being heard properly. Most people don't even know about it yet.

Chalumbin

Senator Malcolm Roberts and cairnsnews.org said 'Close to the Koombooloomba and Tully Falls National Parks and the Tully Falls hydropower plant, this wind plant will have a huge negative impact on the local ecology, wildlife and farming… The cost of producing unreliable (renewable) energies are never fully transparent.

The inconvenient truth is that additional infrastructure costs, for example, transmission lines, are left out of the total cost. The other major factor on which the Greens remain silent is the size of government subsidies,' he said.

It has been announced Queensland Government-owned Powerlink will do $700 million in upgrades to the North Queensland grid over five years.

Senator Roberts also said with cairnsnews.org 'Each of the 94 wind turbines in the Chalumbin wind plant receives a $500,000 per year subsidy; (Note: which was the subsidy amount in 2015 and may have changed) that is your taxpayer money used to produce this "cheap power". And with a maximum of just 30 ongoing jobs, up to 10 that will be highly specialised, the prospect of significant local employment looks bleak, while higher electricity costs will kill agricultural and manufacturing jobs,' he said with cairnsnews.org.

The proposed industrial-scale wind turbines would be among the largest in the country. They would border the western boundary of Tully Falls National Park adjacent to the Wet Tropics World Heritage area. 'The land there is an interface between wet tropical forests to dry eucalyptus forests and includes Koala habitat, 95% of vegetation is remnant and in good condition,' said Rainforest Reserves Australia.

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