Inside the communities fighting against renewable energy | Four Corners

[Music] it's free and clean and for centuries we've sought to harness its energy wind power is essential to meet our green energy targets that means building one of these every day for the next 6 years but we're failing badly we're not even halfway there are we on track to meet our 30 targets as it stands now no we're not we believed the climate wars were over I'm not sure they are I think they have a new focus and that's renewable energy complicating and slowing down approvals is a maze of overlapping planning regimes and complicated regulation I think we're going down the wrong path we can't destroy biodiversity to save the planet it's dividing communities I I think there's been bad behavior on both sides well if that behavior went on in school your child would be expelled and seeing old enemies form new alliances Cole is King here in central Queensland I shake my head in disbelief I cannot believe that I'm in this situation I've seen hard news capitalists become Greenies I've seen Greenies become nimes and I've seen nimes become I don't care in this episode of four Cor Corners we investigate why one of our cheapest and fastest ways to Net Zero has become so hard to [Music] deliver in the old gold mining town of nundle nestled in the new and table lands plans for a wind farm began 14 years [Music] ago as the country's biggest power consumer New South Wales should be rapidly transitioning its energy grid but it's notoriously slow in approving new wind farms it's a protracted process that has fractured this tiny community [Music] Jim and Sue Robinson own much of the country in the Hills above [Music] nundle they thought it was a good place to build a wind farm is behind that Ridge line but was just an idea I thought of when I ride me horse around must and cattle M the Hat blows used to blow up all the time so I figured out typ of the string around it most of the wind turbines G this Farm there's a few neighbors that are also getting them so but um yeah we will be the main land holder if it goes ahead the Robinsons will receive almost $1 million a year in rent for the next 30 Years so can you see the village of nundle from here uh the village is actually behind that that that little mountain that little Hill there yeah the main part of the village but um yeah I I would I would imagine but like for the main street of dundle that um you you probably you would see the towers but it's 9 km away so isolated you know there it doesn't affect many people and there's oh it's really windy not isolated enough for some [Music] neighbors so looking straight there where you can see where there is um it's been clear on this side um along the top of that range there that's where the uh proposed turbines are for and then Ian Wy is one of those neighbors then they will wrap come from there come right around and around the back there so if you can see the trees up there you'll certainly see something that's about 15 times taller than that he's firmly in the no Camp is that your sign yes it is is that's one of them that was the best I could come up with at the time so what's been the effect on the local community massive it's like close to destroying a community nundle nundle was a really cohesive Community people worked together people wanted to work together it's caused um arguments it's caused threats of violence it's caused boundary disputes it's caused people to threaten to shoot other people's stock and things like that so it's you know it's it's in the Realms of politics religion and the wind farm they they they're not to be spoken [Music] about just down the road is one of the families most affected they say their Farm will be ringed by [Music] turbines so right the way around from here we'll see nearly the whole whole uh wind farm so how close is it here uh so we're about 3 km from the turbines here uh yet our boundary goes up to within sort of 200 M of the turbines the other concern is that we've got um benhall Nature Reserve which is one of the most pristine areas that is still as it as it always has been um we've got the state forest and we've also got the cwy national park um they interact with each other that movement between those corridors is super important so putting an industrial site onto a mountain side like that will change that irreversibly John and Selena Sylvester share a boundary fence with Jim and Sue Robinson but they no longer speak it's certainly changed that Dynamic we used toh get along um pretty well but I've had some pretty abusive phone calls because I spoke up against it so tell us about those phone calls what was said basically just swearing and calling me names um you know useless bastard you know don't know what you're doing uh this is about you know I'm just doing this for the community when it's basically all about themselves uh it it is a big money grab uh there's no doubt about it they've tried to use the community as as as the Catalyst to get it over the line not not true no sorry John John's the one that Abus started off by abusing me what's the animosity there I don't like saying jealousy do you think he's jealous of the money that will come to you if this wind farm goes ahead partly the worst part about it is that in the first place I was willing to share to put a lot into the village but I've lost interest the way we've been treated over the years of lost interest in in doing that I think the difference between this project and other projects that I've looked at is that we have one major landh holder which is going to benefit the most and so the the land has been progressively bought and nearly every one of them is involved in the wind farm he said that you've bought up these large tracks of land specifically with a wind farm in mind totally wrong 100% wrong in town the community is as divided as the [Music] farmers sure yeah there's there's people I don't feel comfortable talking to anymore because what is there to say Trousdale runs a high-end homee shop and is among the most vocal opponents of the Wind Farm yes would you like a little B look it's it's a very small town and when there are uh there's when there's conflict you know you have to run into people every day you know you're running into people at the post office you're when you're buying your milk um it's it's unavoidable is it awkward yes it's awkward I do have empathy for the people that have opposing the wind farm I just disagree with them I think it's too important at the other end of the main street cafe owner Andrew Brown is in the yes Camp what's their main concern visual amenity I think it's purely comes down to that they like their views which are Sensational views and in their opinion it'll be detracted by it I don't think so I think wind farms themselves are a technological Marvel and I don't find them ugly I remember my husband sort of you know going to our back window of our house and just looking at the range and and saying that's where it's going so as it was assessed uh there would be 14 turbines visible from our house is it visual amenity that is the main issue here the main issue here is environmental uh you know you've got issues to do with uh soil stability you've got issues to do with water catchment you've got neighboring national parks you've got uh steep country you've got missing information on access roads uh there's a lot of issues before uh [Music] visual the nundle Bowling Club is caught in the crossfire of Waring neighbors and rivals [Music] factions the club's been here since [Music] 1957 uh we about 107 members 10 Bowlers we're up Saturday nights Bistro Wednesday and Sunday for balls and we prepared half a dozen volunteers [Music] Cheryl Sipple is the club's [Music] Treasurer we all do the green um present I Mo my Uncle Max helps luck so that saves the cost of paying somebody it's the only way you can do it [Music] Beau woooo [Music] wind Farm's been marvelous for us last year they paid our building a contents insurance which came to about $11,000 uh we had another $33,000 Grant which paid for a new deep fryer without this support Cheryl says the club would struggle to stay open so um nobody actually wants to go there that's why the bowling club's failing so that would be their Lifeline but um but because of what's goes on there now nobody wants to go that's the difference some people if you don't have their opinion then you are the enemy I just can't work out why they are upset this is only a good thing for the town and and everybody I mean Cole's coming to an end and you've got to have other things in [Music] place that need to replace coal has brought one of the world's largest power producers French giant enie tundle so here's the hills of gold um Wind Farm Scott deiser is NG's head of development in Australia so this initially was a 95 turbine project um it then went down to sort of 70 odd uh in the in the First Amendment of the project now we're looking at hopefully that there will be 62 turbines I think most wind farms are contentious they polarize communities so nundle is no different to other communities in that respect this polarization has seen the approvals process drag on for 6 years and it's not done yet we should be able to get wind farms you know over the line in 3 to 4 years that's that's I think a really good outcome for the industry and it means we still do our due diligence we still do the work New South Wales is well shy of this Mark there's no doubt that the New South Wales planning system for the past decade has been one of the most unhelpful for new wind farm development in the country at the moment we've got a planning scheme in New South Wales that is not fit for purpose one hold up in nundle came from a so-called Phantom dwelling shortly after the wind farm began its Crawl Through the planning process one neighbor lodged paperwork to build the house it is on the fringes of our wind farm and it's quite opportunistically placed um and the impact ultimately is that 11 High yielding high quality turbines could be removed from the project on that basis so a single development application over a house that may never be built has potentially held up your project by 2 years yes potentially yes the fact that it's potentially able to be built means it must be taken into account by the developer we can't have a planning scheme that's allowed to be gained in that manner that sort of provision should be removed uh from the planning scheme NG is confident approval for its wind farm could come within weeks so if this wind farm gets approved what does it mean for you well it'll mean that we close our business uh and uh we'll have to seek other income why would you close your business because it's going to have such an impact on the tourism of our town that uh we wouldn't have an it will imp it will reduce the income of our business to the point where it wouldn't be viable really yes I really don't know what we're going to do whether whether we I can stay here and live underneath it I don't think I can either um so you know we could have we could be going to sell it uh and try and get somewhere else but I don't know where you find another place like this is the trouble how upsetting is that yeah big they're going to see turbines on the ridge someone's going to see turbines on a ridge somewhere someone's got to host them um you know is that going to be the worst thing that happens to any of us in our lifetime that we have to look up to a ridg line and see a turbine you know and this is where I think we all got to do this reality check my daughter pointed out to me that if I can't stand up and fight for it who will what are we going to do in the future when my grandchan ask us about the the climate Wars and all we can say is we fought to avoid our views being disrupted it's a no painer for me you know we have to do something we have to do something [Music] fast for Jim and Sue Robinson work on the farm continues [Music] hey we've done around uh 1,800 acres we've mustard and we've ended up with somewhere around 400 cattle it's not easy work but it's uh enjoyable [Music] work so do you really need this wind farm it'll help us in bad times in in Good Times well it's not necessary but I suppose in bad times in droughts the last drought we had went on nearly for 3 years it's a comfortable living and you know don't really need a wind farm um I'm happy to have it here there's no problems with that if it doesn't go ahead I'm not going to I'm not going to lose any sleep over it it's just G on too [Music] long at the other end of the planning Spectrum in Queensland the state government has introduced special regulations to FastTrack wind [Music] farms developers have moved in often proposing projects in environmentally sensitive areas this can trigger federal government intervention once again slowing the process down the wet Tropics w Heritage area is one of the most magnificent places on Earth it's one of the most highly biodiverse places on Earth for me it's a spiritual [Music] place it's a place that we need to treat with [Music] respect i' would walk in Camp set up a base camp if I find it very inspirational I'll stay there for a couple of nights and explore the the region Steven nowakowski makes his living photographing nature he's a lifelong environmentalist now campaigning hard against wind farms being built in the forests of Queensland [Music] I'm aware that my information my photographs my love of nature could be weaponized against the roll out of Renewables in decarbonization but what do I do it's this campaign that's taken him deep into coal country to the industrial city of gladston this former greens candidate is now embracing old foes he's teamed up with Colin Boyce a federal parliamentarian who does not believe in climate change do you sometimes guys think you're a bit of an Odd Couple Steven is a a noted uh uh ecologist uh uh environmentalist if you like um uh I am the same thing I'm a grazer and a farmer I'm a boiler maker by trade um I am uh very passionate about being sustainable what about you stepen do you sometimes think you're I I shake my head in disbelief I cannot believe that I'm in this situation where I've got Bob C's number in speed dial to find myself in a national party room talking about policy is uh foreign to me and uh it's really bizarre they will spend the next three days touring boy's electorate with their anti- Renewables double Act first up is a public forum at Gladstone's Grand Hotel hello how [Music] [Music] you so thank you Colin and thank you everyone for attending tonight I'm happy to talk to anybody and everyone about my energy Journey it's a journey which began as a supporter of Renewables including queensland's first large scale wind farm it was a beautiful Plateau just uh west of cans near marba it was a place of wild flowers Northern quals and endangered plant species but at the time it was okay you know we can sacrifice this for Renewables we can turn our toasters on in the morning and we're carbon neutral now akowski says he's not opposed to all Renewables but cannot accept the sheer scale of these wind farms you know like I think we're going down the wrong path in destroying forests to try to achieve an outcome which is decarbonization um we can't destroy biodiversity to save the planet and they're both hand inand for nowakowski it's a delicate Dance by questioning the location of wind farms he's providing ammunition for those opposed to climate action if we just go back and sort of look at you know building a new coal P cied power station here and there you know so there's no reason at all and and Co that's a message you need to take back to the LMP there are plenty of countries building cified power stations why is it we mine and Export coal and sell it to China and don't use it ourself it's all about planning and you know there is no plan and we just need to plan where this stuff goes where the Renewables go now you've just said during this whole presentation about you were misled and misinformed about renewable energy perhaps you should go back and look at the information You' got about whether carbon dioxide is the real issue we're talking about here we're delving into the Realms of uh the whole uh climate uh debate and that's somewhere we with don't want to go tonight what I'm going to do is wrap it up here yeah I know I'm just saying we could be on this whole train to nowhere for no reason at all that's all I'm saying yeah ladies and gentlemen thank you very much for your time and effort and thank you to your attendance one thing that seemed to be quite clear was that people agreed that there was actually a big future for coal do you think that's correct uh well I'm a Big Sur suppor of the coal industry I'm on the record many many times of supporting the coal industry coal is King here in central Queensland can I tell you some of Colin's views he's a member of a thing called the salt Bush Club they said that the climate crisis was a fraud um he signed an international statement to say that there was no climate emergency so I totally disagree yes I totally disagree but I'm on this road show to show Australians what's involved in trying to achieve Net Zero with 100% Renewables is it that you oppose renewable energy or are you concerned about destruction of native habitats biodiversity uh I have concerns in both areas as we've seen in that presentation tonight uh the uh environmental damage the uh damage to Flora of fora uh the footprint that these have the um industrialization of what is uh uh literally high value Wilderness if you like do you think Colin cares about the frogs and the owls and the birds no no and there's many politicians that don't I guess the concern is are you providing cover for those who argue that no action is required on climate change isn't that your concern it's a grave concern yeah yeah so it's a grave concern and I'm not there representing the views of Colin I'm representing what I've observed out in the field in terms of biodiversity loss uh in the roll out of these Renewables for nowakowski the only answer to protecting High conservation areas is nuclear that would require extending aging coal plants while building a nuclear industry estimated to cost double that of Renewables look I've marched the streets against nuclear and I've had to relook at nuclear as as a as a solution what do you think of the tactics employed by someone like Steven nowakowski I've um said to Steve here's the facts about nuclear and I think the information that you're sending to others is incorrect on nuclear but I think that if you love nature and Steve loves nature uh you you have to find a way to make Renewables work because nuclear is not a solution Kelly o shanesy is chief executive of the Australian conservation Foundation we often say that the climate Wars are over but I'm not sure they are I think they have a new focus and that's renewable energy I think that the push against Renewables that we're seeing particularly because it's been so politicized is very scary for me I'm extremely worried about [Music] it those politics are also playing out inside the conservation movement they're wrestling with a dilemma where is the line between fighting for nature and pushing for a faster roll out of Renewables I guess the criticism is that the green movement has been teered or lukewarm in their support of particularly wind farms is that a fair criticism I think the environment movement has been incredibly in supportive of renewable energy and the idea of wind farms has there ever been a wind farm where you've come out and supported I no I don't think we have um we we we are supportive of renewable energy we want it in the right places we tend not to get involved in Project by project uh because there are hundreds of renewable projects in Australia isn't it then incumbent on groups like yourselves national leaders long history independent to be more vocal to roll the sleeves up and that's what we're doing absolutely on on coming out of the corners and trying to find solutions to make sure that we are putting Renewables in the right places and that nature is protected that is what we're working on for a federal government Keen to push Renewables into the grid tough choices must be made it approved the Lotus Creek wind farm in 2022 with conditions despite the presence of five threatened species Steven nowakowski filmed this on a visit to the [Music] site yeah so we've just pulled over by the side of the road lo and behold a koala this is lotus Creek beautiful beautiful intact Forest stunning native grasses yeah look at the beautiful orchids up here in the trees in the iron barks look at that it's just Beggar's belief AB abute insanity this should be a koala National Park not a wind farm and we're going to carve it up for a green renewable energy this is just insane SO waiting for the dozers to arrive and once they're here I'd I can never ever come back here but in April the warora station wind farm with 13 threatened species was knocked back by the federal government its proximity to the wet Tropics world heritage area was cited as a major factor that was a big win for Steven nowakowski so it's very overwhelming and it really hasn't sunk in yet because it was a David versus Goliath battle and so many community members and traditional owners put three years of hard work into it it's emotional knowing that potentially we've got future Generations that can come here and be inspired like I was we need reform to the federal environment law uh to take account of uh the benefits to the environment in terms of addressing climate change uh from new renewable energy development if it's a yes or if it's a no that's okay the issue is let's get a timely decision on those environment protection assessments in Queensland the state government is reviewing its own environmental rules but for nowakowski this fight is far from over I know what's down the pipeline there's another 53 wind farms and that's what scares me is the fact that we don't know where that end point is and it's it's the cumulative impact of all these [Music] in the ocean 130 km south of Perth a new industry is being planned it's the next Frontier for clean energy in Australia giant wind turbines [Music] offshore they provide a larger and more reliable energy source and will help get Australia the last mile to to Net Zero by 2050 the federal government oversees much of the planning process [Music] here we've already got state-based and Commonwealth based legislation now with the newer offshore electricity infrastructure act which came in 2 years ago we've got a whole extra layer we need to comply with projects simply will not get built if they have those major impacts on anything out there where there's reefs agriculture or the like like anything in Australia if it has those impacts and is proven through the assessments we go through and by Regulators they do not get built Andy Evans is a pioneer of the offshore wind industry in Australia he's co-founder of ocean x a company vying to build projects off the east and west coasts each worth more than $10 billion [Music] [Music] Evans has self-funded a film about offshore wind I'm Andy Evans and this is planet wind he made the film to help address what he sees as an information Gap in a new industry so look they are incredible structures not only engineering but looking at how Humanity can capture something that mother nit is provided us once you do actually go out amongst an offshore wind farm at first you're Blown Away about how large and Majestic they are that that that's my perception of it and then after 5 minutes you're like why aren't we doing this more often um they they do sit out there they large captures of electricity and energy look seeing um staff out there operating and maintaining them is incredible as well offshore wind was supposed to come with fewer Community conflicts so offshore wind was seen as a real way of freeing up um I suppose a lot of what You' call the human issue um if they are out to see less visible you won't hear them and it's a much stronger energy resource long before a wind turbine is fixed to the ocean floor or a feasibility study has even begun opposition groups have mobilized that should be a good day there's not much wind and um yeah shouldn't be too much SWS KW is aund local and Diving Enthusiast he worries the project will destroy the marine environment here hopefully get some good footage and yeah show some Coral that's kicking around out there plans are underway to build up to 200 wind turbines not right here but at least 20 km offshore they'd be barely visible from the coast [Music] good it's actually phenomenal Reef that's basically off our Coast through here quite often we'll be diving and we'll shut the motor off and we'll that ws come right up to the side of the boat for Kyle this is his playground my family's dived and fished this area for three generations and we know what's there honestly like I'll be keeping him honest every step of the way because I know this this is my backyard this is this is my home so just taking stock of the impact Kyle helps run an anti-wind Farm Facebook group with Martin shepher and Susan Taylor Reese I'm one of the campaign coordinators for Save Our beloved geograph Bay anyone heard of our group it's grown to more than 6,000 members in just a few months once you find out the damage that this will do to our marine environment there's no way you can be Pro wind turbines we hold a platform and represent all of w and we are united with all of Australia so that's not nimi their opposition to Renewables is accompanied by a skepticism of climate change do you believe that human induced climate change is dangerous I think that focusing on reducing CO2 because that's the cause of climate change is very questionable because we know that CO2 is an essential part of The Greening process of this planet and to say that so you don't accept the science of climate change no no I I think that Net Zero talk and I think that saying carbon neutral is actually crazy shouldn't you disclose that you don't accept the science on climate change in commenting on whether or not there should be a wind I think it's totally Irrelevant this post from Suzanne is clearly misleading even if the offshore Wind Farm goes ahead this is not the view you'll ever see from the beaches of geograph Bay this is one of Martin's posts it was actually blocked by independent fact Checkers says here that the post had no basis in fact alongside legitimate concerns about marine life a post on everything from covid conspiracies to climate change denialism and how offshore wind farms kill Wales it's been widely discredited in the US that offshore wind farms kill Wales I disagree because I'm hearing from experts people that have studied Marine Science that studied cations that have delved into this and the Acoustics and the effect of them and how they have to navigate around wind turbine areas in the oceans and when they do that they put themselves at greater harm so no what we've done is actually support it with evidence day after day that whales are washing up on the shores of the United States not a single shred of evidence that offshore wind farms harm Wales in the world there are real legitimate concerns in those communities that are being weaponized the Whales swim very close to shore so they're not going to be anywhere near the 20 30 60 kilm um where the wind farms are being proposed when you're building the wind farm you also need to be very careful about um the timing of when you're doing certain activity so it's not as whales are passing by and affecting their Sona a prominent member of the group is Alexander nickel a former Liberal Party staffer who claims Renewables are government sponsored fraud when turbines are just big washing machines for laundering your money to foreign interests many of her views have been adopted by Suzanne and Martin the federal government subsidizes each wind turbine somewhere between $600 $900 per turbine per year for uh for not functioning sorry how is that the case that is uh that's a a statement that was put forward and this is from the federal government statistics by Alexandra nickel so do you know Alexandra Nichols background she's a known anti- windfarm campaigner who's been linked to the Warra Foundation which is an anti- Wind Farm Lobby group with links to the fossil fuel industry I don't know what you're talking about Alexander nickel was a director of the Warra foundation for a decade until it shut down in April this year it was founded by a long-term fossil fuel executive what I'd like to acknowledge is her courage for breaking silence about the corruption and the fraud of this government that's what I'd like to say I think in many ways there are forces at work that are they seeking to um hinder the energy transition uh and are putting resources into doing that and aligning themselves with genuine Community concerns but also exaggerating them and also firing them with a level of misinformation which is very difficult to counter I think once people actually start seeing a lot of studies being undertaken now that we've got licenses that have been handed out only a few weeks ago I think it will really step up and people will start seeing through a lot of the misinformation out there and see the incredible opportunity that we've got [Music] [Music] this is one of Australia's newest wind farms near the tiny settlement of Rye Park in Southwestern New South Wales after more than a decade it's almost finished graia Paul kavar has four turbines on his property [Music] toy darl yeah oh he we're going to head out to the farm today it's amazing engineering and the fact that these machines are just turning away they're producing enough power for about 4,000 homes per turbine there's no continual traffic of coal feeding a mine or there's no worries about any pollution or there's no um nuclear waste it will provide a group of 22 landh holders as much as $40,000 a year for each turbine on their land for us it means that we've got a passive income for our farm we'll be able to put that into our back into our land come on puppies let's have a bit of a run what's the country like around here uh the country around here is low productivity basically it's uh grazing only at best I mean you can here that like the soil that was only like half a meter of less than half a meter of soil yep so it's really it's not soil yeah it's just rocks basically yeah I think this is a perfect use for this [Music] L the last Blades of the Ry Park Wind Farm were attached just weeks ago [Music] right now wind provides 11 gaw of our power needs this will need to more than triple by 2030 ultimately this was deemed a well-located project with minimal environmental impact and its benefits are being shared [Music] around there was opposition to when farms in this region over the last couple of decades but I think now the lived experience of landholders and of the uh Town communities is that these projects overall bring significant benefits but it's taken too long I guess the hard bit is the 10 years beforehand of jumping hoops the company having to jump hoops to get through regulations and to tick every box and then have the gold post move on them several times as well just known that this could be up and running many years ago but it just uh it just faced a lot of hurdles many of those hurdles remain making it harder for Australia to meet our clean energy targets and keep the lights on [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: ABC News In-depth

Views: 116,590

Keywords: abc news, australian news, abc news indepth, documentaries, long-form journalism, energy, coal, renewables, Australia, greenenergy, wind, politics, conservation, construction, misinformation, power, netzero, windfarm, environmentalist, clean, cleanenergy, windturbine, sea, coastline, investigation, battle, climatewar, alliances, renewable, renewableenergy, coalcountry, rent, neighbours, fourcorners, 4corners, megastructure, news, documentary, freedoco, doco, freedocumentary, engineering, farm, farmer, farming

Id: w1-ACvrnDWs

Length: 45min 35sec (2735 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 10 2024