FOI documents show Vic government saw beleaguered Hastings terminal as ‘urgent’ 18 months ago

EXCLUSIVE

By RACHEL BAXENDALE, VICTORIAN POLITICAL REPORTER, The Australian, APRIL 3, 2024

The Victorian government regarded progress on its beleaguered Port of Hastings offshore wind assembly terminal as being so urgent that an $8m Treasurer’s advance was required as early as October 2022, documents obtained under Freedom of Information reveal.

Requesting the cash weeks out from the 2022 state election, Ports Minister Melissa Horne accepted the Department of Transport’s advice that “Meeting the Victorian government’s offshore wind goals means these works must commence as soon as possible.”

Eighteen months later, tens of millions of dollars have been spent on early works, but the project has been stalled indefinitely after Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek vetoed it in December, citing “clearly unacceptable” risks to local flora and fauna in local wetlands of international significance.

The FOI documents are coming to light as the federal government experiences its own obstacles in pursuit of offshore wind generation, with the traditional owners of the Southern Ocean offshore wind zone declared by the Albanese government last month yesterday condemning Energy Minister Chris Bowen for a “complete lack of appropriate and meaningful consultation”, and accusing him of undermining their “sovereignty as land rights holders”.

On top of the $8m 2022-23 Treasurer’s advance and $1.7m already spent by the state-owned Port of Hastings Corporation, the Victorian government allocated $27m for a feasibility study for the project in the 2023-24 budget, claiming it would “help create thousands of jobs, generate billions of dollars in investment and create renewable, reliable power for all Victorians from offshore wind farms.”

Initial estimates by the Port of Hastings Corporation in October 2023 priced cost of completing the project at $0.8-$1.4 billion.

Briefing documents prepared for Ms Horne by her department show that when the government confirmed the Port of hastings as its preferred offshore wind construction port in September 2022, further work was yet to be completed by the Department of Transport to confirm the apparently foregone conclusion that the Mornington Peninsula site was indeed preferable to alternatives.

“On 27 September 2022, the government confirmed the port of hastings as the preferred construction port to support the first trance of offshore wind developments, noting that the Department of Transport would undertake further desktop analysis confirming the wider economic and industry benefits of Hastings in comparison to the ports of Geelong and Portland,” the documents state.

“To ensure timely delivery of a marine terminal at the Port of Hastings to support the Victorian government’s offshore wind targets, planning and approvals must commence as soon a possible.”

The Victorian government has set offshore wind targets of 2GW by 2032, 4GW by 2035 and 9GW by 2040, with the aim of generating first power by 2028.

The documents state that the extra $8m is required “to support urgent planning, technical and environmental work to be undertaken by the Port of Hastings Corporation.”

While they make little mention of environmental considerations, the documents ironically state that the Hastings site has been identified as the preferred location for reasons including that it it state owned, “providing greater control and investment certainty.”

Its proximity to existing deep-water channels, proposed offshore wind farm declared areas, road and rail infrastructure and a large labour market are also mentioned.

Opposition energy spokesman David Davis said the FOI documents made it clear that tens of millions of dollars had been spent on the “half-baked plan” to assemble offshore wind generators at Hastings.

“Bizarrely, the brief claims the Port of Hastings, being state-owned, will give greater control, despite federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek giving state Labor’s Hastings plan the thumbs down,” Mr Davis said.

“It is also clear the state government’s timeline for offshore wind has been left flapping with the admission that works must commence as soon as possible.

“The state government’s incompetence has seen them miss their own timeline and made a laughing stock of their offshore wind targets.”

A spokeswoman for Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said Victoria was working with the federal government to “determine the next steps” for the offshore wind assembly terminal.

“Offshore wind infrastructure can be delivered in a way that appropriately balances environmental considerations, and the need for new renewable energy generation,” the spokeswoman said.