Anti-renewables hypocrisy will not save koalas

When I was growing up on the fringes of Brisbane in the 90s I used to see koalas in my backyard.

But as I grew up I remember waking up to something different: the cracking sounds of trees being cleared as our area became increasingly urbanised. We don’t see koalas near my childhood home anymore.

I’ve seen a heartbreaking level of habitat and biodiversity loss over my lifetime already and it’s the reason I work as a campaigner calling for more ambitious action on climate change.

It’s terrifying and hard to fathom the scale of the threat that climate change presents to Australia’s communities, wildlife and unique landscapes.

To protect Australia’s incredible natural wonders we need to urgently act on climate change and that includes both minimising land clearing and rolling out more renewable energy.

That’s why I’m furious that right now we’re seeing a handful of politicians and conservative media commentators drum up an anti-renewable energy narrative under the guise of protecting biodiversity and koala habitat.

What they’re really doing is dividing communities, taking up space from constructive conversations and playing politics.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are genuine issues arising in regional communities as a result of poor community consultation, and ineffective planning regulations and nature protection laws on a national and state level. We’re seeing development of all sorts, from coal mines to urban development and wind farms, in environmentally significant areas.

The organisation I work for, the Queensland Conservation Council, is working hard alongside many other environmental not-for-profits to win better planning laws and regulations to address this issue.

But the irony is that many of the same voices that are driving the anti-renewable agenda are far from the koala warriors they’re role playing. If they were, they’d take issue with the cattle and other grazing industries, which in a Queensland context is responsible for 89 per cent of land clearing according to the latest data.

Let’s take a look at one example: Nationals Leader David Littleproud who is calling for a moratorium on new renewable energy projects until the national Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) is reviewed.

David Littleproud was senior figure of the Coalition government when, in 2020, a damning statutory review of the EPBC Act was released finding Australia’s environment is in decline and the Act is ineffective. The then-government’s response to the review was inadequate.

To add insult to injury, he has also been a vocal opponent of stronger land clearing laws.

Similarly, his colleagues such as Keith Pitt, Matt Canavan and Michelle Landry have all vocally supported new coal mines that would drive significant land clearing, but are now coming out against clean energy on environmental grounds.

Let’s call their stance on renewable energy what it is: blatant hypocrisy.

Our research shows that building enough wind farms to support Queensland’s entire energy transition would equate to only 5.5 per cent of the land clearing that is currently occurring across the state every single year.

Instead of driving a wedge through the community, what they should be doing is being part of the solution and rallying behind better planning laws and a well-managed transition to clean, renewable energy.

We need a fast and well-managed transition to protect our wildlife and way of life.

Stephanie Gray is renewables campaigner at the Queensland Conservation Council