The environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, said she had made a proposed decision to refuse the project because it would have an unacceptable impact on the environment. She said Ark Energy had now withdrawn its plans and the project would not go ahead. Plibersek said the project would have cleared one of the last remaining areas of wet sclerophyll forest, a type of woodland that occurs between rainforest and the more open plains of far north Queensland.
“It provides a vital habitat for many birds, plants and animals, including the spectacled flying-fox and the northern greater glider [Petauroides minor],” she said.
[Clearing I presume for access roads and other infrastructure.]
Plibersek said the project took the number of renewables developments she had signed off on as minister to 46, which would deliver energy for almost 3m homes. Plibersek said there were a further 130 projects in the pipeline as the government moved to “unlock Australia’s potential to be a world leader in renewable energy”.“But renewables have to comply with national environment laws, like all other projects,” she said.
