Property Rights Australia, Media Release, 7 February 2023
The Queensland Government’s rush to renewables to achieve the holy grail of net zero has unleashed a wave of new wind, solar and pumped hydro projects and interconnecting webs of high voltage transmission lines across the State.
“Landowners are suffering an avalanche of new projects championed by the State Government owned corporation Powerlink Queensland. Powerlink has over 20 active connection projects attached to renewable energy developments spread from Cairns, Central Queensland right through to the Gold Coast,” Chair of Property Rights Australia (PRA) Rob Atkinson said.
“Powerlink has had a long and checkered history of riding rough shot over landowners’ property rights. Landowners are being swept up in an unprecedented number of renewable energy projects across vast areas of Queensland. You only have to cast your mind back to the toxic corporate culture surrounding the years 2013 through to 2015 where Powerlink demonstrated a total disregard for landowners’ property rights in the Surat Basin as part of Coal Seam Gas developments.”
“In these circumstances Powerlink played a “Claytons” type of community consultation that wasted an enormous amount of people’s time and money being engaged in the process whilst ignoring landowner input into the proposed corridors.”
“Landowners should recognise that Powerlink is a puppet of the Queensland Government and has once again been supercharged to deliver an enormous amount of transmission connection projects within very short timeframes and budgetary constraints.”
Many thousands of landowners will now be engaged in this consultation process with Powerlink and may feel alone, frustrated, and uncertain. PRA can represent landowners, whether you own a suburban home, small acreage or a broadacre farm.
“I would encourage impacted landowners to join our organisation, so that together in a supporting network, we can hold Powerlink accountable for their actions and significantly poor consultation processes.”
“PRA on behalf of affected landowners ask Kathy Hirschfeld AM, the Chair of Powerlink to ensure a significantly improved consultation process which means acting on the concerns of Queensland landowners,” Mr Atkinson said.
Powerlink Queensland has responded to this media release: Powerlink Queensland responds to Property Rights Australia
