The decision to approve the 122-turbine Robbins Island wind farm with limited protections for Orange-bellied Parrots and none for other threatened bird species is both inexplicable and illogical and shows an EPA desperate to approve what it knows it shouldn’t, according to Bob Brown Foundation.
“We have the Tasmanian EPA giving the go-ahead to one of the most appalling and environmentally destructive projects proposed in Tasmania in recent years,” said Bob Brown Foundation Patron Christine Milne.
“Robbins Island has a disease-free population of Tasmanian Devils and on that basis alone the project should have been refused.”
“Five months a year of parrot protection still leaves thousands of endangered and migratory shorebirds, and eagles exposed for the remaining seven months. It is bizarre that the EPA can concede this project will kill one protected bird species while turning its back on over twenty others,” said Bob Brown Foundation Campaigner Scott Jordan
“There are over twenty species of threatened and migratory bird species, including other critically endangered species like the Curlew Sandpiper, Far Eastern Curlew and the Swift Parrot that will be impacted by this wind farm. Where is their protection? The EPA seems to have cherry-picked one species and ignored the rest.”
“We also question the legality of this assessment that on the EPA’s own documents show that the data provided by the proponent was incomplete and failed to consider the separately referred transmission lines and associated infrastructure.”
The project now goes to the Circular Head Council and the Federal Environment Minister for separate approvals.
“We call on Circular Head Council and Minister Plibersek to do the job the EPA failed to do, and reject this destructive, ill-conceived proposal.”