Articles from our conservation campaigns
Today’s approval by the Commonwealth Minister for Environment of the Snowy 2.0 project opens the way for an infrastructure white elephant that will decimate Kosciuszko National Park while driving up greenhouse gas emissions and energy prices.
The National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) has questioned the Commonwealth Government’s ability to assess the environmental impact statement for the Snowy 2.0 Main Works in the wake of a damning report by the Auditor General on the administration of national environmental laws.
“The resignation of the Chair of the NSW Fisheries Scientific Committee, Associate Professor Mark Lintermans, puts a spotlight on the NSW Government’s refusal to take scientific advice about the environmental disaster that will unfold as a result of Snowy 2.0” lamented Gary Dunnett, Executive Officer of the National Parks Association of NSW, and Andrew Cox, Chief Executive Officer of the Invasive Species Council.
Approval of Snowy 2.0 EIS sets appalling precedents, and all for an inferior project
“Today’s approval of the Snowy 2.0 construction project in Kosciuszko National Park marks a new low in the NSW Government’s refusal to protect threatened species and natural landscapes” stated Gary Dunnett, Executive Officer of the National Parks Association of NSW.
Gary Dunnett, Executive Officer, National Parks Association of NSW
In Australia the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme stands head and shoulders above every other nation building project, with the possible exceptions of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. It shouldn’t be any surprise that, back in 2017, Prime Minister Turnbull responded to Snowy Hydro’s pitch by proudly announcing the ‘electricity game-changer’ Snowy 2.0 project. Virtually no environmental impact, just dig a tunnel and build an underground power station and what you get is massive storage to counteract the Achilles heel of renewable generators, intermittency. A wonderful new chapter in the nation building saga of the Snowies.
Approval of Snowy 2.0 EIS would set appalling precedents, and all for an inferior project
“Despite the rapidly growing realisation that the massive Snowy 2.0 development is a deeply flawed, environmental disaster that will drive a species into extinction and offer woefully inefficient and costly energy storage, the NSW Government has signalled that it is determined to ram the project through under their short-cut approvals program to create temporary construction jobs” stated Mr Gary Dunnett, Executive Officer of the National Parks Association of NSW.
