Emotions run high at Binningup community meeting on offshore wind farm zone proposed off South West coast

Emotions ran high and at times boiled over at a community meeting in Binningup on Saturday about the offshore wind farm zone proposed off the South West coast. Recfishwest organised the meeting with the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy and Environment at the Binningup Fishing Club to help angelers and residents understand the process, and how to make a submission during the public consultation period. But the meeting was quickly derailed as attendees voiced their anger and concerns about the potential for wind farms to be built offshore from the coastal community. Department representatives had only just started discussing the process when someone interrupted and said “we don’t f . . . want it, mate”. Officials told attendees offshore wind in the area was “not a done deal”, that no projects have government approval and offshore wind developers must share their operating area with current users if a project gets approved. Interruptions were common throughout, with an attendee telling officials to “go put it in your own house” and another putting a roll of toilet paper near the presenters in protest. In response to a Department official stating Federal Environment Minister Chris Bowen has to take into account “many factors” when deciding whether or not to approve an offshore wind farm zone, one attendee remarked “like his bank balance”. Others were more respectful, voicing concerns over the potential impacts on the environment. One fisherman spoke about the community connection to the proposed area. “This area isn’t just an area that one or two of us use,” he said. “We’ve got generations of fisherman and shark fisherman who use the area and my concern is that wind farms worldwide have not been built on an ecosystem as rich and as pure as what we have.” A protest banner was displayed by some attendees highlighting the potential impact offshore wind in the region could have on whales. The meeting ran more than half an hour into overtime and was wrapped up after one of the attendees called a female official a “stupid b. . .”. Speaking after the meeting, Recfishwest operations manager Layland Campbell described it as “passionate”. “I think we can temper some of the things,” he said. “Some of the comments were probably irrelevant because it wasn’t about the process, while other comments were very pertinent and poignant.” The Department will hold two community drop-in sessions at the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre on Tuesday.