What submissions on wind zone plan revealed about the Illawarra

With the declaration of the zone which occurred on Saturday, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water has released the responses gathered during the three-month consultation period.

The Illawarra generated more than double the number of submissions of all other offshore wind zones combined, highlighting how the proposal hit a nerve in the region and beyond.

Of the responses received, nearly two-thirds were opposed to the zone, while about one-third were in support.

The report notes that this is not a representative sample of the population, and some submissions were made by organisations on behalf of their thousands of members, meaning that one submission could capture the thoughts of hundreds of thousands of people.

The number one issue for those who registered concerns was the environment, followed by community or onshore concerns.

Two third of those concerned raised issues of visual amenity.

Of those who highlighted benefits, benefits to the environment, particularly addressing climate change and reducing Australia's reliance on fossil fuels, were the most common, followed by community benefits.

Wind farm opponent Alex O'Brien, spokesperson for Responsible Future (Illawarra Chapter), said the results were an indictment of the community consultation process.

"It's the nature that the government undertook in terms of those rapid-fire sessions, not engaging the community in a respectful manner, that has seen a very strong opposition," he said.

"Had they taken a different approach, maybe those numbers might not have been as high."

UOW associate professor Michelle Voyer, whose research focuses on community consultation in offshore infrastructure projects, also critiqued the consultation process.

"I don't think the process is helping us at the moment," Dr Voyer said.

The declaration of the final zone was a missed opportunity to take into account some of the ideas that were generated in the consultation process, and indications so far pointed towards a developer-led process continuing, Dr Voyer said, rather than utilising independent environmental research.

"Seventy-seven per cent of submissions raised environmental concerns, this is really clearly an area that both supporters and opponents are interested in.

"There were concerns raised about the timing of environmental assessments and the trustworthiness of environmental assessments run by proponents, but there wasn't any commitment to independent research in the announcement on the weekend.

"It was a little bit disappointing."

In other countries where offshore wind farms are constructed and proposed, governments have taken the lead on conducting the seabed studies and on-site monitoring, prior to granting licences to wind farm developers.

In Australia, prospective developers will carry out these studies and each project will go through its own environmental approval process, with plans from developers reviewed by the department.

The federal government has been grappling with widespread community dissatisfaction with the way in which renewable energy projects are proposed and communities consulted.

In July 2023, Energy and Climate Change minister Chris Bowen tasked Andrew Dyer, the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner to conduct an independent community engagement review.

The review found that poor engagement practices were leading to distrust between communities and renewable energy developers.

"The community has been and remains quite vocal in their dissatisfaction with developer engagement to date through both traditional channels and extensive use of social media."

The Albanese government has committed to implementing the recommendations of the review, including a ratings scheme for renewable energy developers.

"This report signals to regional and rural communities that we are determined to improve developer engagement to provide better information about an individual's rights, involve communities earlier and more effectively, and properly handle complaints," Mr Bowen said.

In the Illawarra, Dr Voyer said there needed to be transparency in the next stages of the process, with developers now encouraged to establish community benefit schemes as part of their feasibility licence applications.

"It has the risk of pitting groups against each other, and it doesn't create space for a coordinated, community-led approach to defining what community benefits should look like in our region," she said.

"Maybe we need to do it ourselves."