Bob Brown has challenged Environment Minister Watt to personally guarantee the safety of protected wildlife at the Robbins Island wind farm project.
In response to Watt’s assurance that the project would safeguard species like the Orange-bellied Parrot and Tasmanian Devil, Brown announced a $10,000 challenge.
The foundation will donate $10,000 to a wildlife rescue organisation if the wind farm causes no harm to protected birds or Tasmanian Devils. Brown has also called on Watt to make a matching pledge, promising to donate $10,000 for each protected animal injured or killed by the project’s construction or operation.
Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 30 August 2025
Foundation’s $10,000 challenge to Watt
Bob Brown Foundation will pay $10,000 to a wildlife rescue organisation if the federal government keeps its promise that the Robbins Island wind farm will harm no protected birds or Tasmanian devils.
Announcing his go-ahead for the contentious project yesterday, Environment Minister Watt said he had ensured ‘this project will be constructed and operated in a way that safeguards nationally protected species. This includes the orange-bellied parrot, Tasmaniandevil, Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle and protected migratory shorebirds.’
In Hobart today, Bob Brown challenged Watt to make good this guarantee by promising to also donate to wildlife rescue groups $10,000 for any protected bird or animal injured or killed by the wind farm’s construction or operation. That includes the only natural population of critically-endangered Tasmanian devils – on Robbins Island – still free of the deadly mouth cancer disease.
“He’s made a guarantee to the Australian people that the project will ‘safeguard’ species facing extinction. If he’s honest and the word ‘safeguard’ is valid, he should take up our offer. ‘Safeguard’ means to ‘protect something so that they are not harmed, damaged, or lost,’” Brown said.
“Under Watt’s perfectly workable Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, there are multi-million dollar fines and jail for up to seven years for destroying species facing extinction or their habitat in Commonwealth areas, so our challenge is small bickies compared to the penalties other citizens face if they destroy protected wildlife.”
“Ordinary punters may think that Watt riddled his announcement on the Robbins Island wind farm with spin, lies and greenwash. Here’s a great way to show that he’s not a fake minister for the environment”, Brown said.
Tasmanian Times (TT) is a community-based news and current affairs service covering the island state of Tasmania. It exists to provide a diverse view of Tasmanian issues. TT creates and supports independent media content utilising the best of modern technologies and tried-and-true practices of public-interest journalism.
Support us in expanding our coverage and developing new content by and for Tasmanians.
New initiatives on the way include:
- a weekly podcast covering current affairs
- a revamped website
- a monthly cartoon competition
- a user-friendly app for both Android and Apple devices
- a weekly roundup of key stories
