Summary
A Queensland community is protesting after discovering that a proposed wind farm threatening untouched woodland and endangered species is among several renewable energy projects underwritten by taxpayers before receiving environmental approval.
The Moah Creek Wind Farm, a 60-turbine project near Rockhampton, is one of five renewable projects still under assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, even as it was selected for federal underwriting through the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS).
Residents and conservationists say the decision undermines confidence in the approval process. Leanne Sedgman, of the Kalapa and Wycarbah Local Action Committee, said underwriting the project “makes us feel those approval processes are just there as a box-ticking exercise.” Locals fear the project will destroy pristine mountain habitat, threaten koalas and greater gliders, and cause erosion impacting the Fitzroy River.
The government, however, defended the CIS, stating all contracts include environmental and regulatory milestones that must be met before public funds are released. Still, critics—including conservation groups, former Greens leader Christine Milne, and the Biodiversity Council—warn that the renewables rollout risks outpacing environmental safeguards.
The Moah Creek project alone would affect nearly 800 hectares of land, including 473 hectares of habitat for the threatened plant Cycas megacarpa, as well as 420 hectares of critical koala habitat. Its developer, Central Queensland Power Development Co., has pledged to minimize impacts through additional surveys and management plans.
The controversy underscores growing national tension between rapid clean-energy expansion and biodiversity protection as Australia pursues its goal of 82% renewables by 2030.