Have you ever been to a place in the bush so remarkable you will never forget it?
A place where koalas sleep in the eucalypts, old growth trees with tree hollows shelter gliders and birdlife, soft native grasses catch the sunset light and glow, and reptiles appear and glide peacefully away. A place you can watch the sun set in complete peace and then listen to the birdsong as you greet the day.
This is how we felt when we groundtruthed Lotus Creek wind farm site in Central Qld.
We saw so many Koalas! Everywhere. We also saw a thriving ...
Have you ever been to a place in the bush so remarkable you will never forget it?
A place where koalas sleep in the eucalypts, old growth trees with tree hollows shelter gliders and birdlife, soft native grasses catch the sunset light and glow, and reptiles appear and glide peacefully away. A place you can watch the sun set in complete peace and then listen to the birdsong as you greet the day.
This is how we felt when we groundtruthed Lotus Creek wind farm site in Central Qld.
We saw so many Koalas! Everywhere. We also saw a thriving ecosystem with all sorts of wildlife being sustained here.This is the sort of place most of us dream of visiting.
Once upon a time, the Lotus Creek wind farm was sensibly rejected by a former Government due to it's unacceptable impact on the koala population here. But Minister Plibersek has since approved it- a revised version of the wind farm was signed off in 2022.
Vestas, a Denmark-based global wind developer corporation, has purchased the approved Lotus Creek wind farm. They are now heading up one of the most horrific projects in Australia which needs to be stopped! Shame on Vestas!
Now under construction, we know it's not too late for Lotus Creek to be abandoned. We know Minister Plibersek has the power and can make the call to hit pause on the ecocide.
Koalas are now Endangered. Every koala is precious. It is unacceptable to destroy koala habitat. Koalas cannot easily be relocated, this usually kills them. They require expertise when being handled and attended to. The nearest qualified vet clinic is 800km away - who is attending to injured koalas in the meantime? We say enough of this ecocide which is occuring out of sight from the public and concerned conservationists.
Greater Gliders, Squatter Pigeons and a vasy aray of bird and batlife move through and inhabit this landscape. Ancient ridgelines of the Great Dividing range offer sanctaury to these threatened species.
The development will involve clearing of 399.1 hectares (ha) including:
341.36 ha of Koala habitat
16.39 ha of Squatter Pigeon breeding habitat
32.35 ha of Squatter Pigeon foraging habitat
48.75 ha of Greater Glider habitat
FACT: 101 Koalas were spotted during wind farm ecological surveys. This is astounding. This precious place should be our Great Koala National Park.
Now is the time to shut down the Lotus Creek wind farm! Our iconic Endangered koalas need their climate refugia habitat conserved. It's not too late for Minister Plibersek to do the right thing and put a stop to this project.
Shamefully the Qld state gov have just announced they will allocate $500 million of taxpayer dollars towards building the Lotus Creek wind farm on critical koala habitat - disgraceful in an extinction crisis. This must be stopped.
Construction of the Lotus Creek wind farm is destroying the critical habitat of the thriving onsite koala population. Each and every koala matters in this extinction crisis. Destroying their old growth habitat is beyond disgraceful. Clearing rare old growth forest to "save the environment" makes no sense!
Koalas need their specific feeding trees, otherwise they starve. If relocated, koalas will most often perish. We need to speak up for them now because the Lotus Creek koala colony cannot protect itself. Their habitat at Lotus Creek wind farm site needs saving. This habitat must be left intact.
The nearest vet clinic able to care specifically for koalas is at Australia Zoo, approx 800 km away. Who will care for koalas hurt by clearing of their trees? Are qualified wildlife carers onsite, and if so, how will they care for a critically injured koala who really needs a hospital?
All in all, the Lotus Creek wind farm will involve the decimation of 341.36 ha of Koala habitat, 16.39 ha of Squatter Pigeon breeding habitat; 32.35 ha of Squatter Pigeon foraging habitat; and 48.75 ha of Greater Glider habitat. 55 wind turbines will be installed on habitat critical to their survival. Raptors will become victims of turbine strike and bats too in this high biodiversity landscape.
We visited the Lotus Creek wind farm site ourselves and couldn't believe the abundant nature we found. We easily spotted koalas up trees. Other threatened species such as the greater glider live in peace here. Here in these remote and peaceful climbs, nature is flourishing. Now let's leave it alone.
After visiting Lotus Creek and seeing so many koalas firsthand, we wept bitter tears at finding out the wind farm had been approved.
Now we need to stand up to say NO to this ecocide before it is too late for our threatened wildlife. Let's make our voices heard and let Minister Plibersek know Lotus Creek wind farm needs to be stopped.