Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

I can inform honourable senators, since they have such a deep interest in this topic, that Senator Ian Campbell made his recent decision not to approve the Bald Hills wind energy installation in Gippsland, Victoria, under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 only after very careful consideration of all the relevant facts and advice. As environment minister, he had to balance the needs of development with the protection of our rare and threatened flora and fauna, ensuring that any development is sustainable. His decision in this instance was made on the basis of an independent report on the cumulative impact of wind energy installations, which concluded that almost any negative impact on the endangered orange-bellied parrot could be sufficient to tip the balance against its continued existence. The report concluded:

Given that the Orange-bellied Parrot is predicted to have an extremely high probability of extinction in its current situation, almost any negative impact on the species could be sufficient to tip the balance against its continued existence. In this context it may be argued that any avoidable deleterious effect—even the very minor predicted impacts of turbine collisions—should be prevented.

The EPBC Act requires that in light of such evidence the minister take a precautionary approach to approving any development. The precarious position of the orange-bellied parrot was recently recognised by the World Conservation Union, which has included the bird on its red list of endangered species.