Queensland’s new LNP gvernment has hit pause on development approvals for a number of proposed wind farms to allow submissions to be made from members of the community.
The development approval for the Moonlight Range Wind Farm, 40km north-west of Rockhampton, has been issued with a proposed ‘call in’ notice that allows submissions to be made from community members, local governments and other stakeholders as to whether the proposal meets state interests.
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The consultation period is 40 business days and will close on March 14, 2025.
This is the first step in what the LNP says is part of its election commitment to ensure renewable energy projects are impact assessable with approval processes consistent with other land uses like mining.
Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jarrod Bleijie said, “Queenslanders backed our election commitment to provide both local communities and councils a say in new renewable energy developments in their backyard.
“It’s only fair that the regions that play host to these large-scale new developments are consulted as part of any approval process.
“All projects, whether they are renewable energy, agriculture or mining, should be subject to the same rigorous approvals process which includes community consultation and we will amend the assessment process to deliver this certainty to Queenslanders.
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“The Queensland Government is open for business and the introduction of an impact assessment framework for renewable energy projects and approval processes consistent with other land uses will provide certainty for the community and industry.”
Three other applications for wind farms currently under assessment in North Queensland, Central Queensland and South West Queensland have also been paused to allow proponents to demonstrate that the appropriate community consultation and impact assessments has been undertaken.
