Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Destructive, dangerous, ugly. I was hoping the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water would be able to tell our community something more about Labor's planned Mandurah offshore wind farm proposal. A proposal to lock up almost 8,000 square kilometres off our coast for what could be one of the world's largest wind farms—an area that stretches from Mandurah to Dunsborough.

The reports I've heard from consultations in Mandurah last week have done nothing to alleviate the concerns of locals. Last week's so-called consultation in Mandurah was nothing short of a charade. It was a tiny attempt to pacify my community while advancing the corporate interests of wealthy activist investors. Locals were even told by representatives of a massive energy company which stands to profit from this project that my opposition is 'interfering with democracy'. They don't want the truth out there, that the stunning beauty of our coastline will be damaged and compromised, and the massive wind towers and blades will make our ocean will look like a scene out of a dystopian science fiction movie.

There are massive sunk costs with this wind farm, which will be paid for by Australian families and business, and it will increase our energy dependence on a foreign power.

We are not a laboratory for Labor's radical energy policies or the vested interests of crony capitalists. This is our home, it's our region, and we will protect it.