Minister exposed on parrot

The Australian, Page: 1
Wednesday, 26 July 2006

FEDERAL Environment Minister Ian Campbell ignored explicit advice from his own department that stated a $220 million windfarm posed no obvious threat to an endangered parrot and should be approved. Senator Campbell vetoed the project despite warnings from one of his top bureaucrats that using the orange-bellied parrot to stop the windfarm could have widespread ramifications for coastal development in four states. The Department of Environment and Heritage told Senator Campbell on March 10 this year there did "not appear to be direct evidence of any impact on the orange-bellied parrots" from the Bald Hills windfarm, in Victoria's Gippsland. The advice, written by department first assistant secretary Gerard Early, recommends Senator Campbell approve the windfarm subject to a range of standard conditions.

In supporting the windfarm, the department is believed to have rejected two other options. The first was to approve the project provided its turbines were 2km from the coastline. The second option was to reject the proposal and ask the developer to resubmit an application that avoided any impact on the orangebellied parrot. It is believed Mr Early found that "on balance" these options were not supported by the department.

"Both of these approaches would represent a lowering of the previous threshold for unacceptable impact on the orange-bellied parrot, particularly as there does not appear to be direct evidence of any impact on the orangebellied parrot at Bald Hills," he wrote. The Australian understands Mr Early wrote that these options might be seen as inconsistent with the approach to other windfarms that have previously been approved at Portland in Victoria and Woolnorth and Musselroe Bay in Tasmania. "It would have ramifications for all coastal development in western Tasmania, Victoria, southern NSW and southeast South Australia," he wrote. "A consistent approach should be adopted for all development proposals in the orange-bellied parrot's migratory range and, as such, a lowering of the threshold may attract criticism in relation to other developments.

"Despite the advice, Senator Campbell rejected the proposal. On April 3 this year, he wrote on the advice: "Proposed project not agreed. "Senator Campbell informed the developer, a company called Wind Power, of his decision on April 4, provoking a political storm about whether the windfarm genuinely posed a threat to the parrot. It also sparked debate about the minister's performance and the Government's environmental approval process.

Victorian Planning Minister Rob Hulls said yesterday Senator Campbell's decision to ignore his own department was further evidence the windfarm - a hot political issue in the federal seat of McMillan during the 2004 election campaign - had been blocked for "purely political reasons". "Senator Campbell has been exposed again," Mr Hulls said. "Not only did he ignore the overwhelming evidence in his own, publicly available scientific reports that windfarms pose a negligible risk to the parrots, he also rejected his own department's recommendations. A spokeswoman for Senator Campbell last night released a statement, insisting he made his decision based on an independent report that found "the impact of wind turbine collisions on the orange-bellied parrot, though small, could be sufficient to tip the balance against its continued existence".

The report examined the impact on migratory birds of 23 current and proposed windfarms in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, showing the orange-bellied parrot was likely to be extinct within 50 years. It showed the parrot didn't regularly fly near Bald Hills, and predicted that Continued-Page 2From Page 1 seven if all 23 of the wind farms were built in the three states, the impact would be "very small, even barely noticeable", possibly causing up to one extra death a year. The minister declined a request for further comment. The federal Government had refused a Victorian Government application under Freedom of information to release the departmental advice.

Mr Hulls and federal Opposition environment spokesman Anthony Albanese demanded the advice be released. "The Howard Government is setting dangerous precedents for arbitrary, political interference in infrastructure development," Mr Albanese said. The revelation that Senator Campbell's department had recommended the wind farm be approved came yesterday during Federal Court proceedings initiated by Wind Power Pty Ltd. The company is seeking to have the wind farm rejection set aside and for it to be reconsidered by the department.