Landholders impacted by the proposed North West Transmission Developments (NWTD) and Project Marinus have overwhelmingly rejected the projects, stating they are not in Tasmania’s best interests and lack “social licence.”
Following a meeting in Stowport on 25 October affected property owners, supported by local MPs and councillors, raised serious concerns over the projects’ potential economic, environmental and social impacts. Key issues discussed included the risk to Tasmania’s carbon-negative status, the threat to eagle and migratory shorebird populations, high costs to taxpayers and reports of unethical public consultation tactics.
Media release – Malcolm Ryan, Meeting Chair, 27 October 2027
NWTD-Affected Landholders Reject Project Marinus
On 25 October, landholders impacted by the North West Transmission Developments (NWTD) project, including on neighbouring properties, met at Stowport to discuss the proposed NWTD and Marinus development. The consensus reached was that these energy projects are not in Tasmania’s best interests and they do not have social licence.
There were numerous speakers at the meeting, including Craig Garland MP, Carlo Di Falco MP and several farmers. Tabatha Badger, Greens Member for Lyons, was also present at the meeting and spoke briefly during the group discussion. Councillor Garry Carpenter of the Central Coast Council also attended.
Wade Rockliff, a fourth-generation farmer from Sheffield who spoke at the meeting said,
“As a farmer, I see it as my job to make sure that I leave that farm better when I’m finished than what it was when I started, so everything I do on the farm, every development, I sort of go and think, well, is it going to be economically and environmentally sustainable, and is it going to make lives better for myself and future generations on that farm?
“I imagine my grandkids as adults and what they are going to think of the decisions I am making now, and what sort of a legacy I’m going to leave them on the farm.
“We maybe should be applying that type of thinking to Marinus and the Northwest Transmission Development. We should be thinking along the lines of what it’s going to do to future generations that don’t get a say in it now but it’s going to obviously affect in the future.”
Mr Rockliff raised a number of concerns about the proposed Marinus Link and NWTD projects, including the expected loss of Tasmania’s carbon negative status due to importing fossil fuel-based energy from the mainland, as well as lost opportunities for attracting labour-intensive industries to the state. He also spoke of the small benefits yet disproportionately large costs falling on Tasmanians for Project Marinus, foreign ownership of wind farms, tens of millions of taxpayer dollars spent on subsidies, high government debt to pay for energy projects and environmental impacts.
“The grandkids they’re gonna say, ‘Wow, we didn’t see any of these eagles you’ve been telling us used to fly around years ago, and you’re going to have to tell them, ‘Well, our government has given these offshore wind companies licence to basically drive these big, beautiful birds into extinction,” said Rockliff.
“And just imagine when the whole state is covered with these wind farms and transmission lines what’s going to happen to our eagle population. And not only that, you’ve got your beautiful migratory shorebirds flying all the way from the Northern Hemisphere to Robbins Island. What happens to those birds when they get there and there’s blades swinging around at 340 kilometres an hour?”
Another landholder, Terence Chandler, spoke of badly-conducted environmental assessments on his property for the NWTD project, divisive public consultation methods, and unethical tactics being used to pressure property owners into signing agreements.
“At my place they told my neighbour that I was happy with the route of the transmission lines, and told them the same story.
“And they turned up two days afterwards, and said, ‘Are you happy with the transmission lines?’, and I was like,
‘No, definitely not.’ An instant, blatant attempt to turn neighbours against each other.'”
Chandler also considered the Strategic Benefit Payment to be “really insulting”, with the payment to be cut off after twenty years, while landholder impacts continue on for decades afterwards.
He called for unity among landholders, saying, “If enough of us get together and join up as a group and try and save Tasmania from this very poorly thought-out project, because it is clearly not any benefit for us.”
Landholders at the meeting discussed a Joint Statement, which they plan to present to the Government after it is finalised following the meeting.
Some affected landholders who were unable to attend the meeting, often due to prior commitments, nevertheless made contact to express their support and some offered to assist in other ways.
One affected farmer who was not able to be present suggested starting a class action lawsuit and was prepared to provide assistance for this purpose. The possibility of a class action lawsuit was presented to landholders at the meeting and is being discussed further.
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