New Wind Farm Rules Ensure Community Consultation In Mirani

Member for Mirani, Glen Kelly MP, has welcomed last Friday’s announcement from Deputy Premier Bleijie that all new wind farm approvals will be impact assessable and required to consult with local councils, communities and other stakeholders for new projects.

Under the previous Labor Government Wind Farms had been code assessable and didn’t require full impact assessments or consultation with impacted communities as part of the development process.

The previous code assessable rules had bounded timeframes where if a decision had not been met within the timeframe projects were then deemed approved without the assessor making the final decision, with no public consultation and no third-party appeal rights.

“This is great news for Queensland’s regional communities, especially those within my electorate of Mirani,” Mr Kelly said.

“This is something that I’ve been fighting for since before I was even a candidate to make sure communities actually get a say in these developments instead of being told it was going to happen and they just had to live with it.

“This announcement shows that the Crisafulli Government has listened to the calls from the communities that have had undue stress placed on them as a result of Labor’s rushed and reckless renewables rollout.

“This an important step forward in making sure communities get a say in whether they want these projects.

“For too long our communities have felt voiceless, with ‘Community Consultation’ sessions often feeling more like community lectures.

“Social Licence is a key part of any development proposal and under the last Labor Government these developers have not needed to make sure that they have it prior to moving forward with their projects.”

From Monday 3 February Wind Farms will have to comply with an impact assessment meaning mandatory community consultation and third-party appeal rights being guaranteed.

Other requirements include:

• Making sure wind new farm applications result in no significant loss of high quality agricultural land;
• Workers’ accommodation associated with the construction of the wind farm does not adversely impact on surrounding communities;
• Construction impacts on local infrastructure are mitigated, or if unable to be mitigated, remediated;
• Social impacts are identified and addressed to avoid negative impacts on host communities (community benefit);
• Decommissioning of wind farms becomes the sole responsibility of the wind farm operator and guaranteed through bonds or financial guarantees, no longer leaving private landowners at risk.
• Any disturbance to environmental footprints are rehabilitated

Wind Farms currently being built or with development applications in the Mirani Electorate include:

1. Lotus Creek Wind Farm
2. Clarke Creek Wind Farm
3. Boomer Green Energy Hub
4. Moonlight Range Wind Farm
5. Moah Creek Wind Farm
6. Boulder Creek Wind Farm
7. Mount Hopeful Wind Farm

Member for Mirani, Glen Kelly MP, welcomes new wind farm approval rules requiring full impact assessments and community consultation to ensure local voices are heard. Photo supplied.

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