Noel Hicks, a former federal MP, says Griffith and Wagga need to be wary about the number of renewable projects in our region. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
The race to make Australia an AI powerhouse could come at a significant cost to the Riverina, with scarce agricultural land increasingly being targeted for large-scale energy developments.
With the rapid introduction of AI, the Prime Minister has announced his eagerness for Australia to become an AI powerhouse, with the stipulation that developers must source their own power and water.
This will place further pressure on scarce arable land and even scarcer irrigation land, as developers look to build the infrastructure required to meet Australia’s future energy needs.
We are already seeing this across the Riverina, with large-scale solar developments around Bilbul, Hanwood and Griffith. There will be winners and losers, as is already occurring, and this causes great dissension within communities.
Local councils, the government closest to the people, is almost powerless to object to these developments, as unelected decision-making committees appointed by the NSW Government have the power to override any council’s decision not to approve a solar development.
If councils continue to defend their decisions, they could find themselves before a court, with ratepayers footing the bill. Councils may therefore find it easier to accept a pittance in tax-subsidised payments from developers and move on.
Riverina protests against renewable energy projects are on the rise, but the projects keep getting approved. Photo: Shri Gayathirie Rajen.
This is despite council staff spending many hours, at ratepayers’ expense, seriously looking at the pros and cons of proposals and whether they are beneficial to the local population, only to be overridden by a government-appointed, non-elected tribunal.
Billionaires and – usually – overseas companies will be vying for land as well as water. This will in turn increase the value of water and leave those who wish to continue irrigation farming in a very difficult situation.
Many cannot afford any more rises in the cost and scarcity of water on top of energy, fertiliser, sprays and other inputs, along with low commodity prices.
We in rural Australia are already carrying almost the total load when it comes to the provision of solar energy.
While I am not opposed to rooftop solar, I am totally against turning irrigation areas that produce at least 30 per cent of Australian agricultural income into a wasteland of industrial-scale energy complexes.
The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area is one of Australia’s most productive agricultural regions. Its land produces food and generates wealth for the nation, and once it is converted to industrial use, it cannot simply be returned to farming.
Australia needs reliable energy, but it also needs food security. The government must consider whether sacrificing productive agricultural land is the right price for meeting the demands of new industries.
I feel sure our present governments have plans for our Riverina region, but I hope those plans are in the best interests of Riverina farmers and therefore our local population.
Noel Hicks is the former federal member for the Riverina.
