Press conference, Canberra

MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Well thanks everyone for coming along today. Today, I’m able to announce more renewable energy and more environmental protections for Tasmania and for the country. Today, in line with national environmental law, I have granted approval to a large wind farm project in North West Tasmania on Robbins Island. This is a large wind farm project. It will generate up to 900 megawatts of clean renewable power. It will generate many jobs in North West Tasmania. And it involves around 100 wind turbines along with other constructions such as a bridge and quarries to facilitate the development as well.

Importantly, in approving this project, I have attached very strong environmental conditions because we recognise that the area this wind farm is situated in is of very great environmental significance. It has important populations of critically endangered species, including some bird species, also endangered species such as Tasmanian devils, and we have attached strong environmental protections to preserve those species forevermore. Importantly, those conditions in several ways go beyond the conditions that were imposed by the Tasmanian Government when they granted this project approval several years ago. I think you all understand that this is a project that has been going on for some time. It was first referred to the Federal Environment Department back in 2017. But since that time, it has been rigorously assessed by the Tasmanian EPA with extensive scientific evidence considered by the Tasmanian EPA and by ourselves in reaching this final decision. So it's been through a number of steps; approval from the Tasmanian EPA - subject to conditions, approval by the local council, and we've now granted this project approval as well with those additional strong environmental protections. And I'm happy to go into that in detail with you if you'd like me to.

The other point more broadly that I think it's important to make is that I think Australians know that we simply will not be able to tackle the climate change challenge that we have as a nation without more renewable projects being delivered. But when we do that, we need to give strong consideration to the environmental impacts of these projects, and that's why we've taken the time to review the scientific evidence and impose those strong additional environmental protections. So, we think, in approving this project, subject to those conditions, we've got the balance right, and in total, what this means is more renewable energy, more jobs for Tasmania, and more environmental protections than those that already existed.

I might leave it at that in terms of an overview, but I'd like to hand over to Anne Urquhart, the Member for Braddon, who has been a fierce advocate for this project, the jobs that it provides, and also protecting the environment in that very special part of Australia. Over to you, Anne.

ANNE URQUHART, MEMBER FOR BRADDON: Thanks very much, Murray. And can I say that I'm very pleased to be here today with Minister Watt on this important announcement. I'm here, as Murray said, as the Federal Member for Braddon, and that's where Robbins Island is located - up on the far north west of Tasmania. I'm also here as a champion of Tasmania. I love Tasmania, and I love the opportunity to have environmentally sustainable industries right on my back door, and I think it's amazing. Tasmania is a uniquely important place that can make a contribution towards the renewable energy and the net zero targets that our Government has set for the ongoing term.

Robbins Island Wind Farm has now passed both federal and state environmental requirements. And as the Minister has outlined, with some conditions attached that make sure that it is environmentally sound. It's taken seven years to make sure that this works – well, it seems like a long process but it's also been a very important length of time to make sure that we get it right for the environment but also for Tasmania. Both things are possible. We can build a renewable industry, but we can also look after our environment, and that's what we are about. That's what we need to do. It is a balanced and thoroughly resourced outcome that we have here today. The project will also deliver very good, well-paid jobs for Tasmanians, and a future for our young people. For many years, we had too many of our young people leaving the state of Tasmania to pick up good, well-paying jobs. We now have opportunities with projects like this for our workers to stay, our young people to stay, and have good, sustainable jobs but with their support mechanism and their families around them. And I'm really excited to be here today with the Minister to share in this announcement for Tasmania.

MURRAY WATT: Thanks, Anne. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Yeah, Minister, Bob Brown has argued that if you did approve this project that there’d be major protests, equivalent to that that kind of occurred around the Franklin Dam. Are you concerned about potential backlash? The second question is, I think there was some original proposals to kind of shut down the farm for five months of the year. Is that part of the conditions that you've imposed?

MURRAY WATT: Sure, so just taking them individually; it's a matter for Bob Brown what he wants to do and what he wants to protest about. I think, unfortunately, what we know about Bob Brown is that any major development that is sought to occur in Tasmania, he opposes it. So he's opposing and standing in the way of a major renewable energy project that, among others, is really key to tackling the climate change challenge. And this is the challenge that we've got as a government and as Australians, is how do we deliver the renewable energy that this country desperately needs to bring down power prices, to meet our emissions reduction targets, but to do it in a way that manages and avoids those environmental impacts. When you have a chance to look at the press release, you'll see some detail about the conditions that we've imposed here, but in broad terms, what we have done is apply, as I've said, additional conditions beyond what the Tasmanian Government imposed. There are 88 conditions in total for this development, and they include things like establishing buffer zones between the wind turbines and nesting sites of these birds. They include requiring the proponent to make financial contributions to breeding programs to rebuild the population of some of these endangered species. They include requiring the proponent to deliver management plans to minimise, manage, and avoid environmental impacts, among various other conditions that we've imposed. But it's a matter for Bob Brown how he decides to react to this decision. But as I say, if he's protesting against this, he's protesting against more renewable energy for Tasmania and for Australia.

The second question about the possible shutdown of this project; when the Tasmanian Government originally approved this project several years ago, they required a shutdown of the plant - of the wind farm - for around five months of a year to avoid migratory species. That condition was overturned on appeal by the Tasmanian courts. What we've done in this decision, and you'll see in the conditions, is require the proponent to provide a Bat and Bird Management Plan. So that requires them to put forward to how they intend to avoid their wind turbines having impacts on these endangered species. And you'll see in the conditions that one of the things we've said is that it's possible that under that management plan, they will be required to have a temporary pause to all or some of those wind turbines. So that's a matter that we'll now work through with the proponent as they prepare that management plan. That's a plan that requires my approval as the Federal Minister, and I can assure you that we'll be taking any risk of impacts from these turbines on these endangered species very seriously.

JOURNALIST: We’ve seen pretty angry protest confrontation with the PM today, some people pretty upset around the large scale rollout of renewables. The PM’s conceded that community consultation hasn’t always been as it should. When you’re trying to speed up decision-making processes and not have seven years to make decisions like on this one, how do you balance that with doing adequate community consultation?

MURRAY WATT: It’s always a balance, and I have heard that the PM had some protesters at his appearance at the Bush Summit today. And I think it’s understandable that Australians want to express their views about this. We do have farmers protesting about renewables and other projects going through their land. You’ve mentioned green protesters as well. But our nation has to be realistic about the fact that we need more renewable power to tackle our climate change challenges, to reduce emissions and to reduce power prices. But of course, in doing that, we need to pay very close attention to the environmental impacts of these proposals and the community impacts of these proposals. And I’ll be the first to say that not all energy companies have consulted communities in the way that they should. From my time in Queensland state politics eons ago, I saw some gas companies do a good job, and some gas companies do a bad job of consulting their communities. So it is important that proponents do the right thing and consult their communities. But we have to be realistic about the needs of our country for that renewable energy. To give you an example, this project that we’re talking about today, as I say, it’s up to 900 megawatts, so it’s a pretty large wind farm. It will generate enough power to supply over 400,000 homes in this country. And the reduction in emissions that will come from this wind farm is the same as taking more than one million cars off the road. That is a good thing for the environment. And it is why we need to have these projects go ahead, but we need to do it in a way that manages community concerns and that also avoids environmental impacts.

JOURNALIST: Just picking up on that point – so as the Government balances these two things, so approval but also community consultation and environmental protection, it’s clear from your statements today that the Government will lean towards approval. That’s what you guys want to do. So there could be conditions imposed, you will go through a consultation process, but at the end of the day the Government’s primary focus is to get these projects through – whether it’s housing, whether it’s critical minerals, renewable energy.

MURRAY WATT: Look, I wouldn’t put it that way. I mean, we will obviously assess every single project on its merits, and there will be projects that simply cannot go ahead because the environmental impacts of them are too great and are unacceptable. What we've done with this project is have a very close look at it, review the scientific information and evidence before us and come up with conditions that do allow us to seize the opportunity that comes from this renewable energy, but do it in a way that protects the environment. We'll do the same when we assess housing developments, we'll do the same when we assess any development that comes to see us.

JOURNALIST: Minister, what's your response to people who have expressed concern that the Government has maybe lacked transparency or provided public evidence around the link between Iran and those antisemitic attacks?

MURRAY WATT: Look, to be honest with you, I haven't been particularly close to that matter over the last couple of days. I've been working on this and a number of other matters in my portfolio. But we've seen the Director General of ASIO and the Prime Minister and two other senior ministers give a lengthy press conference here in Canberra outlining the information that's to hand. Of course, we're not in a position to disclose every detail of national security information but I've got great confidence in the officials in ASIO, that they take these matters seriously and that they act on evidence that is conclusive.

JOURNALIST: Minister, why couldn't this decision have been made earlier?

MURRAY WATT: So, as I said earlier, I recognise that this decision is a long time in the making. But under the system we have at the moment, under our national environmental laws, it needed to get State approvals and a State assessment before getting federal approvals as well. And it is a very complex project with environmental issues that needed to be managed carefully and really thought through. But as you know, earlier in the week I was making the point that we do want to get moving on our EPBC reforms so that we can better protect the environment and speed up approvals. And that's why we've committed-

JOURNALIST: -was there a lack of urgency in your first term on issues like this?

MURRAY WATT: No, I wouldn't put it that way at all. My recollection is that we received the assessment from the Tasmanian EPA towards the end of 2022, I think it was - I can clarify that for you - but I would suggest that shows that it hasn't been sitting with us for years. The issue is that the process as it stands requires it to go through both governments, and that can take several years.

JOURNALIST: Sorry, just one last one. I believe you're also due to make a decision on Glencore's Mudgee coal mine by today. Do you have any update you can give us on that decision?

MURRAY WATT: I don't. I have not personally been involved in that one up until now, but as you may be aware, under the current system, many decisions- the vast majority of decisions - actually get made by departmental delegates. So it's possible that one is waiting for a decision from a departmental delegate rather than me personally. There's actually a relatively small number of projects that the minister of the day makes the decision on with the vast majority-

JOURNALIST: -that's not on your desk? That’s with a delegate?

MURRAY WATT: I haven't seen that one personally, yeah, but we're happy to clarify that for you.

JOURNALIST: OK, thank you.

JOURNALIST: Just with the wind farm, you said the shutdown could be required based off the company's management plan. Why is that not something that a decision could have been made on with the Government's own assessments?

MURRAY WATT: Well, we've done everything we can on the scientific evidence we've got available to put in place conditions for this project. It's very normal for the approval of projects to go through with conditions that require these kind of management plans to be developed so that further information can be gathered, and so that those plans can be as precise as possible. It's not expected that the construction of this project will begin until 2031, so there is still time to finalise those details. But I can assure all Australians that when it comes time to deciding whether to approve that management plan or not, I will be looking very carefully at what impacts the wind turbines have on any critically endangered or endangered species. As I say, 88 conditions, that's pretty tough on the proponent, and it shows that we're not taking these issues lightly.

JOURNALIST: Minister, given the extremely remote nature of this island, how can you ensure that the conditions are met? And separately, there seems to be a great focus, rightfully so, on the birds, but there's also significant concern around Tasmania devils. How can you ensure that disease doesn't now flow over to the island?

MURRAY WATT: So, the first part of your question, there will be ongoing monitoring of the impacts of this project on species over the life of the project. So I guess that addresses the first point about how can we be confident about that into the future. The second point, you're right, the Tasmanian devil is an endangered species, and therefore it also required consideration through this assessment. What we've done is also impose our own conditions along with the Tasmanian Government's conditions to minimise impact on the Tasmanian devil. The reason it's particularly an issue with this project is that Robbins Island contains a population of Tasmanian devils that is free of the facial tumours that affects a lot of Tasmanian devils on the main part of Tasmania. We want to keep it that way. So there's conditions, for example, around how the bridge that will connect the island to Tasmania itself is to be constructed with barriers that limit and prevent movement of Tasmanian devils from the main part of Tasmania to the island, which would potentially risk spreading infection. But we've also inserted a new condition limiting the habitat of Tasmanian devils on Robbin's Island that can be cleared in an effort to preserve the food sources and habitat that they require to stay alive.

JOURNALIST: Minister, just on another- Bob Katter yesterday, his conduct has been widely criticised from all sides of politics. Should the Parliament take action against that behaviour? And the comments came because he was talking about these protests that are going ahead this weekend. The Government says they don't support them, but is the Government concerned that the disrespect a Parliamentarian has shown to journalists could put journalists at risk covering these events this weekend?

MURRAY WATT: Look, Bob Katter’s behaviour yesterday is absolutely not on. I get along fine with Bob on an individual level, and this goes way beyond the kind of behaviour that any Australian Parliamentarian should engage in or any member of the public. We shouldn't be going around threatening people with hitting them, whether you're a politician or anyone else. So it'll obviously be a matter for the Parliament to  determine how to respond to that, and I don't want to pre-empt that. In terms of those rallies over the weekend, my understanding is that they are anti-immigration, far-right rallies, and I join with the rest of the Government in condemning them.

JOURNALIST: You’ve never felt like punching a journalist, then?

MURRAY WATT: Never.

[Laughter]

MURRAY WATT: I love journalists. I love the back and forth, it's my version of sport. I was terrible at sport. Some might think I'm terrible at politics, I was a lot worse at sport!

[Laughter]

JOURNALIST: Offshore wind, that's been another contentious of some of the proposals. Are you looking at approving any of those? Where are we up to with that? And just secondly to that, is it your view that hitting the 82 percent of the new use target is essential to hitting our 2030 emissions target?

MURRAY WATT: I'm thinking about the first part of your answer; I'm not aware of any offshore wind projects that are currently sitting on my desk. And, as I say, it's possible that some of them are requiring decisions from departmental delegates rather than me as the Minister. If there's anything further we can add to that we'll come back to you. I wouldn't necessarily make the connection between achieving our 82 percent target and our emissions reductions targets. We want to achieve both. And it's decisions like this today that will assist us to achieve our 82 percent renewables target. But more importantly, will provide the cheaper energy, the cleaner energy that Australia desperately needs and will go a long way to helping reduce our emissions.

JOURNALIST: You’re here today, you’ve talked about some of the 88 conditions on this approval - how come the conditions on the North West Shelf extension are still secret? And what's going on with that one?

MURRAY WATT: Yeah, so generally speaking the process we adopt when considering these sorts of projects is that a proposed decision with conditions is sent to the proponent to consider and then there's a discussion with the department about those conditions whether there's something we've got wrong, whether they're workable, whether the same aim can be achieved a different way. And those discussions normally happen behind closed doors prior to a final decision being made. That's actually the process that occurred with this project, Robbins Island, where a proposed decision was provided to the proponent with proposed conditions and there was some discussion about those conditions before reaching a final decision. What was different with the North West Shelf project was that I took a decision that there was such public interest in that project that I needed to be open with the fact that we had issued a proposed decision and that it did contain strict conditions and those discussions continue to occur with Woodside. But I'd be hopeful that it won't be too much longer before we'll be in a position to issue a final decision about that project.

JOURNALIST: And do you have to tell Raelene Cooper about that decision before you announce it publicly?

MURRAY WATT: That's related to - as you know - there's a separate application that's been made, not just about the North West Shelf project, but about the Burrup Peninsula on which that project is sited. We're considering that application at the moment. You may have seen that I've issued a proposed decision to the applicant in that matter, along with the companies that have an interest in it. And we're literally, as we speak, we've got departmental officials working with all of them to talk through those proposed conditions. My understanding is that there is still a requirement through the court system to notify Raelene Cooper prior to announcing a decision on the EPBC approval but that's been changing a little bit over the course this week. And again, we can let you know if that has changed.

JOURNALIST: Just very quickly, when there is a final decision on the North West Shelf, the conditions that are imposed will be made public?

MURRAY WATT: Yes, they will. So the conditions that we've attached to this decision, Robbins Island, will be published, I would expect over the course of the day, and we'll be doing the same thing on North West Shelf.

JOURNALIST: Thank you.

MURRAY WATT: OK? Thanks everyone!