The Greens will move to refer the Rockliff Government’s State Coastal Policy validation bill to a committee for rigorous scrutiny before it is debated in the Legislative Council this week. Given the significant cultural and environmental impacts that any changes to these long-established coastal protections would have on Robbins Island, as well as the currently active Supreme Court case, it’s clear Parliament needs the chance for further scrutiny.
The Liberal Government’s plan to validate the proposed Robbins Island windfarm wharf – despite it being in contravention of the State Coastal Policy – is an example of them again bending over backwards for their corporate mates. It would retrospectively validate the approval of a wharf for the Robbins Island Wind Farm, on sensitive and mobile sand dunes.
Robbins Island is a culturally significant area for Tasmanian Aboriginal people, and a globally vital habitat for migratory shorebirds, including the endangered Wedge-tailed Eagle, Masked Owl and White Goshawk. The Robbins Island windfarm proposal represents a major threat to local and migratory birds.
The Liberals’ State Coastal Policy validation bill seeks to circumvent a currently active Supreme Court case involving community advocates and the Environment Protection Authority.
Despite our repeated requests, the Rockliff Government has refused to publish the legal advice it claims to have received on the apparent need for retrospective changes to the long-serving State Coastal Policy.
In this climate crisis, we need more renewable energy generation, but in the right places. Environmental destruction got us into this climate mess, and any new renewable energy projects must comply with long-standing environmental protections like the State Coastal Policy and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. They also need to have a social license, which the planned Robbins Island windfarm does not have.
