The opposition says the community has been ignored as Labor pushes ahead with offshore wind, but a coalition of unions, the Smart Energy Council and environmental groups has cautiously welcomed the latest zone.
Maritime union branch secretary Will Tracey said with strong and consistent offshore winds when solar power was not available, projects off Bunbury could power much of the region’s essential industries.
Unions warn the lack of a credible industry policy to demand local content means inferior wind towers could be dumped here.
Manufacturing union boss Steve McCartney said members had spent 20 years campaigning for good local manufacturing jobs that allowed them to live at home, earn a decent living, and see their families every night.
“Coupled with green metals production in Collie, the future economy of the southwest is in well-paid, secure green manufacturing jobs,” he said.
The Conservation Council of WA said it supported offshore wind projects to replace “climate and nature-wrecking fossil fuels” if the settings were right.
The zone is one of six locations identified as priority areas around Australia to replace coal-fired power in the coming decades.
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Source Agencies
