STATEMENT - SOUTHERN OCEAN OFFSHORE RENEWABLE ZONE

I welcome the Federal Government’s announcement that the offshore wind zone declared in the Southern Ocean excludes South Australian waters.

I thank Minister Chris Bowen for accepting my request to meet with a delegation from the Limestone Coast in Canberra last year. While the Department’s consultation process was fundamentally flawed, the face-to-face meeting held in Parliament House afforded the opportunity for the views of the local community to be heard and understood directly by the key decision maker.

In addition to this meeting, the community’s powerful grassroots campaign has been integral in achieving this result and all involved should be commended for their efforts. It is a brilliant example of local voices making themselves heard.

I have always prided myself on being Barker’s voice in Canberra rather than Canberra’s voice in Barker and by working with local community advocates, together we have been heard and we have achieved a great result for the Limestone Coast region.