Liberal leader Libby Mettam calls for State Government to make views clear on South West offshore wind farms

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam has called on the State Government to make its views clear on offshore wind farms amid community concern.

But Premier Roger Cook has said his government is focusing more on onshore wind farm projects, while advising his Federal counterparts to “listen to the community”.

The WA Fishing Industry Council raised concerns on Monday, claiming turbines in the proposed area would destroy reefs and fish habitat, as well as restricting access to shipping lanes.

Chief executive Darryl Hockey said he met with Federal Department of Climate Change and Energy officials nine months ago and presented confidential fishing industry data to illustrate which areas should be off-limits.

But he said those concerns were “clearly ignored” when Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced the proposed location in late February.

Ms Mettam said legitimate and serious concerns had been raised, and called on the State Government to make its views clear on the proposal, describing its “silence” as “deafening”.

“Questions raised by the WA fishing industry and the wider community are not being answered; merely noted,” she said.

“With community information sessions deplete of the information the public is seeking on their concerns, as well as the fact an offshore wind farm is yet to be successfully developed anywhere in Australia, it raises the question of where the Cook Labor Government is on this critical matter.

“Will it stand up for WA against Canberra in our best interests, or continue to ignore it as a Federal matter?”

Mr Cook was asked about his views on the Federal Government’s proposed offshore wind farm zone during a visit to Collie late last month, and said the renewable energy technology was “not a priority” for the State Government.

“We believe that onshore wind power will provide a significant boost to Western Australia’s renewable energy journey, and we don’t have the same land-use intensity that they do on the east coast, so I think it’d be many years, possibly decades or more, before we’ll ever need to look at developing an offshore wind power facility,” he said.

The Premier encouraged the Federal Government to really focus on its “long-term” consultation process and to “listen to the community”.

The consultation period for the offshore wind farm zone closes on Friday.