Part of what’s driving Mark Watson to run for mayor is his opposition to a project he says is the talk of the town and the “biggest problem” in the history of his waterfront home.
The former One Nation candidate for state government is now running as an independent for mayor of Port Stephens. The coastal town north of Newcastle overlooks the center of an 1,800 square kilometer offshore wind farm zone off the Hunter, where the Albanian government plans to operate a renewable energy hub by 2030.
The town is one of many in NSW where a culture war is simmering over large-scale renewable energy projects. Those opposed have largely organized through rallies, information sessions and a constellation of Facebook groups. Now it forms a platform for many candidates for local councils and mayors.
All three Port Stephens mayoral candidates oppose the offshore wind farm zone – even Labor candidate and incumbent deputy mayor Leah Anderson, whose website says she is opposed “until independent environmental studies are provided to convince me otherwise”. .
“Anxiety and fear” are gaining strength
Justin Page of the Hunter Jobs Alliance, a community and trade union group, says the issue has created a level of angst and traction in Port Stephens unmatched in neighboring local government areas. This makes him appear a lot more in council campaigns.
“This opposition group came up early and created anxiety and fear without any basis that it would destroy the marine ecosystem,” says Page.
“Unfortunately, it’s a pretty well run campaign and the public just doesn’t know or understand it and that’s why it’s gaining traction.”
On Watson’s ticket, which wants to improve prices, roads and litter alongside the offshore wind farm zone, is Troy Radford, president of the Newcastle and Port Stephens Game Fish Club.
Both Watson and Radford have been among the most vocal against the offshore wind farm zone and have been key organizers of many rallies against the project. At one such event in the city last October, Barnaby Joyce likened the push for renewables to a “cult”.
Last year, Radford approved a roadside billboard featuring a beached whale with turbines in the background under the words “Stop Port Stephens Offshore Wind Farms” — despite the claim that wind turbines kill whales is not supported by credible scientific evidence.
Watson, who decided to run as an independent rather than One Nation in order to be a better “voice for the community”, sees the project as one that will change the fabric of a community that has not been properly consulted. He says it will affect game and commercial fishing, tourism, small businesses and the environment.
“We are not against renewables or against wind farms; we are against the Hunter offshore wind farm,” he says. “It’s not the right project for this area.”
How much say do communities have?
The councils have no approval authority over offshore wind farm zones or large-scale wind and solar projects, which are considered state-owned. For some politicians, the battle is to negotiate the best possible outcome for their community – regardless of the voters’ views on the projects themselves.
“We can’t stop it,” says Sam Coupland, mayor of Armidale, four hours’ drive north of Port Stephens. “But we can shape it.
Coupland is chairman of a small group of mayors whose local government areas are located in inland renewable energy zones. He says the group the purpose is not to promote or hinder development, but to share information and lobby for the best outcomes for the communities where the projects will be located.
Coupland says the state has failed to provide certainty in its wind and solar projects by not yet finalizing an energy policy framework that provides impact guidance to communities as well as benefit-sharing guidance to councils.
“The [guidelines] they needed to be in place before they went down that road so there was no uncertainty,” he says.
“When you have uncertainty, there’s room for bad actors to play, or for misinformation to come to the fore.”
A culture war similar to the one in Port Stephens is also building over the offshore wind farm zone in the Illawarra region, south of Sydney.
In many posts in regional anti-wind farm groups, opponents expressed outrage that the recent state Liberal Party not nominating candidates would mean “no opportunity for residents to vote for a candidate who opposes wind farms.”
One person wrote: “This is a disaster for our war at sea.”
after the promotion of the newsletter
Responsible Futures, a community group dedicated to fighting the Illawarra offshore wind farm, recently shared on its website a number of candidates running across Shellharbour, Kiama and Wollongong councils who oppose the proposal.
“As you may be aware, an administrative error by the NSW Liberal Party resulted in 16 candidates being omitted from the Wollongong and Shoalhaven Council elections. Many of them opposed Illawarra’s offshore wind proposal,” their website reads.
“In this situation, it is even more important to consider supporting independent candidates in the upcoming local elections who oppose this project and are committed to fighting for our community at local council level.”
It lists three candidates for Wollongong council, five for Shellharbour and three for Kiama who oppose the wind farm. One of the candidates for Kiama council is Mark Cains, who is president of the Kiama Liberal branch but is running as an independent.
“Many in the Liberal movement agree with me that party politics and councils do not make for happy housemates,” Cains explained to Guardian Australia about his independent candidacy.
In November last year, Cains helped organize a Liberal party public event attended by Guardian Australia, where speakers voiced fierce opposition to the project. Some of the speakers were from the Coalition Against Offshore Wind, one of the region’s most vocal groups opposing the project.
Cains says the offshore wind farm zone has not been “front and center” in his political platform or his desire to run for council, but that it is an issue for the community, which is questioning whether it is “the best idea for us” and “the solution to climate changes”.
In response to a recent social media post about the project and his view of it as a potential council member, Cains says, “It’s not going to be installed on my watch.”
But he says there is very little the council, which sits in the marginal seat of Gilmore, can do directly to stop the project. What it can do, he says, is send a message: “We expect better – better consultation from the government.”
“I feel like the council has lost its way”
Away from the coast and back north amongst the rich farmland atop the Great Dividing Range is Walcha. His community of about 1,300 people were rallying for the construction of the Winterbourne Wind Farm.
Several of the candidates running for Walch’s board have been vocal or are publicly associated with groups that support or oppose the project. But for some, it’s a bigger sign of how communities are being listened to when it comes to renewable energy projects.
Two of the candidates are father and daughter Warwick Fletcher and Holly Fletcher. Holly says her father and brothers will host nine wind turbines on their land – each turbine can generate thousands in annual income for landowners.
Holly says she would declare her perceived financial interest, which may prevent her from being involved in renewables decision-making if elected, but transition support was not what drove her to run. Her real interest, she says, is for the council to get involved in “issues beyond its scope”.
“I’m not sure if it’s a symptom of the wind farms or the renewable energy projects, but I feel like the council has lost its way a bit,” she says.
Rachel Greig is also running. She is a member of Voices For Walcha, which shares information about renewable energy projects in the region, and hosted Barnaby Joyce at a meeting against the wind farm in Winterbourne.
Greig says she’s running on a number of issues, including senior care facilities. She is also concerned about the environmental impacts of the Winterbourne Wind Farm and the community being “kept in the dark” about renewable energy projects.
“I want to make sure the community’s concerns are heard,” he says.
#watching #wind #farms #key #issue #NSW #local #elections