Responsible Future volunteer turned Liberal Party candidate for Cunningham Amanda Ivaneza tonight urged a crowd of about 220 people at Warilla Bowls Club to "fight for the Illawarra".
"Put some trust in me as a grassroots candidate and let me fight for you and fight for our communities because only a Dutton Coalition government will stop these wind farms," she said.
Ms Ivaneza – an HR manager at Peabody who is running for election for the first time – became emotional on the subject of Labor's support for renewables during her allocated three minutes to address the 'Illawarra Offshore Wind and Energy’ meeting.
"Excuse my shaking, but I'm very passionate about this subject, so I apologise," Ms Ivaneza said. "But it goes to show how, just how emotional it is for me and how much I want to protect our landscape for our children."
The Liberal candidate was one of 10 Cunningham and Whitlam hopefuls who spoke at the event, put on by Responsible Future Illawarra Chapter, a local group campaigning against offshore wind that recently featured in an ABC investigation.
“We are a hundred percent grassroots organisation,” Responsible Future president Alex O'Brien said in his opening address. “We are not funded by the fossil fuel industry, or Trump or whoever else they may think is behind our movement. We do rely on donations from the community. So, please, please support us.”
Candidates who spoke against offshore wind included four contenders for Whitlam: the new Liberal candidate, Nathaniel Smith; Sharon Cousins of One Nation; Independent Paddy Moylan and Libertarian Raymond Khoury, who won spontaneous applause after he said: “Last Saturday’s Mercury claimed that 2.3% of voters are against the wind farms. Only a person with an IQ of less than 10 would believe this nonsense.”
Representing the Australian Citizens Party were Cunningham candidate Alexis Garnaut-Miller and Whitlam candidate Cheryl Hinton. Ms Garnaut-Miller told the meeting that she consults in the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) market, "so I can tell you that it's already happening in Australia”.
“The industry knows it,” she said. “And it's about time that more MPs became open-minded so that you as a community can know it too.”
Only two people – Tim Lavers, the Animal Justice Party's Cunningham candidate, and the Greens' Whitlam candidate, Jamie Dixon – spoke in favour of offshore wind.
Mr Lavers catalogued the “terrible stories” of climate change and suggested looking at climate action in Europe. “What is interesting is that France, despite a very successful nuclear program, is planning to build 50 – that is 50 – offshore wind farms over the next 25 years,” he said.
Mr Dixon was booed when he attempted to open his speech with an Acknowledgement of Country but went on to tell the room that he was not there to create arguments. "I'm here for conversation," he said.
The final speaker was freshly minted Independent Ben Britton, disendorsed as the Liberal candidate for Whitlam after past comments about women in the military recently surfaced in the media.
Seated next to an empty chair with a sign reading “Labor”, Mr Britton told the meeting he’d been a “bit naughty”, that Responsible Future was a “wonderful group” and that Labor “don't care about you”.
“They couldn't even come tonight and say to you just why they think that this wind farm is a good idea for our community. … They don't listen to you. They don't listen to the community,” Mr Britton said.
Labor representatives will also not be attending a similar event for Gilmore voters on Wednesday, April 9, at Kiama Leagues Club.
The Flame understands that Cunningham MP Alison Byrnes, Gilmore MP Fiona Phillips and Carol Berry, Labor’s candidate to replace outgoing Whitlam MP Stephen Jones, all declined invitations to Responsible Future meetings due to safety concerns following threats on Facebook, including talk of face slapping, egging and pushing an MP into the ocean.
Labor members were worried that, as those online threats went unmoderated, this could be seen as condoning behaviour that could lead to real-life violence.
In response, a Responsible Future letter said the association "unequivocally rejects any form of violence" and offered Labor MPs a chance to speak via Zoom.
Offshore wind has been a controversial topic since the zone consultation first began in August 2023 and opinions are now firmly divided along mainstream party lines. Labor and the Greens support the Illawarra’s renewable energy zone, Liberals and Nationals oppose it.
The election will be held on Saturday, May 3. To enrol to vote or update your details, visit the Australian Electoral Commission's website.
