Senior local Liberal party members are calling on Federal Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen to scrap the proposal for an offshore wind farm off the coast of the Illawarra.
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Ahead of a community meeting in Kiama on Monday, President of the Kiama Liberal branch Mike Cains said after receiving community feedback on the offshore wind zone, Mr Bowen should not proceed with declaring a zone for the Illawarra.
"I'd like the rezoning to be cancelled, and I'd like all these proposals to be shelved until a proper analysis can be made of all the options that we have before us," he said.
Mr Cains and Shoalhaven Liberal councillor Paul Ell are organising the meeting, to be held at Kiama Leagues Club between 6.30 and 8.30pm, along with representatives of the Coalition Against Offshore Wind.
Also speaking at the meeting will be former NSW Treasurer and Transport Minister Andrew Constance.
It is understood that Mr Constance has concerns about the size of the pontoons and chains, as well as the impact on marine life and seabirds.
Mr Constance is currently in the running for the federal Senate seat vacated by retiring former defence minister Marise Payne.
There are only four days left for the community to have their say on the proposed offshore wind zone, with the deadline for submissions on November 15.
The proposal covers 1461 square kilometres of ocean between Wombarra and Gerringong.
Mr Cains said his primary concerns were the environmental impacts of the proposed floating wind turbines, and whether the wind farms made economic sense.
Due to the unprecedented nature of the proposal, Mr Cains said many of the environmental impacts were not yet known.
"I think people have got genuine concerns, what's it going to do to the currents, the swells, the fish, the movement of sand, are whales going to be able to negotiate thousands of steel cables," he said.
"There might be good answers for all of those, but the community feels that they're yet to be answered."
Mr Cains also cited the CSIRO's GenCost report, which finds that floating offshore wind is currently three times more expensive than onshore wind per kilowatt of power generated.
Instead, Mr Cains - who operates a energy-positive farm in the Southern Highlands - proposed that the federal government should explore additional wind turbines on land.
"Thereby giving farmers a decent return for what they can do with their land."
After an extended period of consultation over two months, Mr Cains said that this had not been conducted in "good faith" and that Illawarra parliamentarians were selling a predetermined decision.
"It's not one where we go hand in hand as a community down the path to assess whether this is right for us or not."
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