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NATIONALS leader Matt Canavan is calling on the Labor Government to support Senator Ross Cadell’s motion today to investigate the impacts of large-scale renewables on agricultural landholders and rural, regional and First Nations communities.

It comes after the Prime Minister declared that when it comes to renewables, “you need a social licence in order to operate. There needs to be much better consultation and engagement on all of those issues”.

Senator Canavan said if the Prime Minister was fair dinkum’, the motion was his chance to prove it.

“The Prime Minister should be backing the need for an inquiry and urging his Labor colleagues to support it if he was being honest at the Bush Summit,” Senator Canavan said.

“We need to end Labor’s net zero obsession that is making Australians poorer.

“Labor’s net zero agenda is driving the reckless renewables rollout across Australia, with no regard for prime agricultural land and the rights of farmers and the community.”

Senator Ross Cadell said the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee into renewables would look at the social licence arrangements of renewables, including the consequences where genuine social licence has not been demonstrated.

It would also explore the impacts on productive agricultural land and farming operations, neighbouring landholders and residents, plus community cohesion.

“The Prime Minister has essentially called for this motion and for this inquiry by declaring that we need a social licence,” Senator Cadell said.

“The Nationals are giving the Prime Minister the chance to put his money where his mouth is.

“We must stop taxpayer money being used to help investment funds buy up Australian farmland and turned into so-called carbon-offset projects.

“Over 90 per cent of Australia’s emissions reductions to date have come from converting 7 million hectares of productive farmland to forest.

“Farming communities deserve to know the distribution of costs and benefits, including compensation for non-host landholders.

“They deserve to know the adequacy and enforceability of planning, approval, complaint handling and dispute resolution arrangements, including the implementation of the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner’s Community Engagement Review.

“Affected communities should also be given information on the conditions of Commonwealth funding and support, who gets it, and why.”

The Committee would report back by 31 March, 2027.

Source: The Nationals