The Robbins Island case will have national significance hearings commence in the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal today. In what is likely to be one of Tasmania’s longest hearings of its type, the appeal against the Robbins Island wind farm will begin its three weeks of hearings today in Hobart. The approval of the project by Circular Head Council in February is being appealed by Bob Brown Foundation and three other appellants seeking a rejection of the project, while proponent ASEN is appealing the approval conditions including seeking removal of conditions imposed to mitigate impacts on the critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrot.
“Climate and Biodiversity are two sides of the same coin,” Bob Brown Foundation’s Patron Christine Milne AO said. “There is an increasing awareness around Australia that big business, particularly foreign owned corporations behind some of the large proposed windfarms, is more interested in profit than in addressing global heating or maintaining ecosystems and protecting threatened species. It is business as usual for them. The Robbins Island case will have national significance as a test case in this regard.”
“Robbins Island is the end point of one of the world’s most important migratory bird routes. There are more birds nesting on Robbins Island and the surrounding Boullanger Bay than in the rest of Tasmania. We know there are at least 19 species of endangered and treaty-protected migratory sea birds using this area, some travelling from as far as Siberia and Korea. This is not the place for a mega-windfarm,” said Bob Brown Foundation Campaigner Scott Jordan.
“At risk of harm by this proposed industrial development are all three of the world’s migratory parrots, the critically endangered Orange-bellied and Swift Parrots, and the endangered Blue-wing Parrot. Nesting and breeding on the island are Wedge-tailed Eagles and White-bellied Sea Eagles,” Scott Jordan said.
“Road-building, land clearing and construction traffic will impact one of the last disease-free populations of the Tasmania Devil, and the proposed 1.4km bridge and causeway will provide a pathway for the fatal disease to enter the island refuge,” Scott Jordan said.
“Combine this with Robbins Island’s globally significant geo-heritage sites and the island’s Aboriginal heritage, and it is hard to imagine a worse place for what the company described as the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere,” Scott Jordan said.
“Over the next three weeks, we will lay out our case on the myriad of reasons that this project ought to be refused. While the arguments will be detailed, the message is not. It is simply the wrong place,” Scott Jordan said.