Energy Debate Heats Up Election Campaign in NSW’s Hunter Region
On a warm evening in Port Stephens, the local game fishing club is packed with voters eager to hear from candidates vying for the federal seat of Paterson. At the heart of the discussion is one hot-button topic: a proposed offshore wind farm off the coast between Newcastle and Port Stephens.
The forum remains civil, with candidates respectfully presenting their views — but the presence of two AFP officers quietly observing from the sidelines underscores the heightened tension surrounding energy policy in the area.
Energy Transition Sparks Local Concerns
As Australia faces a major shift in its energy landscape over the next few decades, the political divide is stark. Labor supports a rapid expansion of renewable energy, while the Coalition is campaigning on a proposal to build a nuclear energy sector from scratch.
Nowhere are these issues more intensely felt than in the Hunter region, home to major coal mining operations, ageing coal-fired power plants, and the country’s biggest power user, Tomago Aluminium. It’s also the proposed location for a range of energy projects, including a gas plant, nuclear site, and the controversial offshore wind farm.
Both the Paterson and Hunter electorates, held by Labor with slim margins, have become battlegrounds in the federal election, with the Coalition eyeing gains. In Paterson, the Liberals are focusing heavily on linking Labor to the unpopular wind farm project and have vowed to scrap it if elected. Labor currently holds the seat by just 2.6 per cent.
In the neighboring seat of Hunter, the Nationals are making another push, seeking to exploit fears around the transition to net zero emissions. Although the seat is more firmly held by Labor’s Dan Repacholi, with a nearly 5 per cent margin, it has never changed hands and remains symbolically important.
Labor hopes that the Coalition’s embrace of nuclear energy and criticism of renewables will backfire, especially amid growing support for clean energy — and accuses opponents of spreading misinformation about offshore wind developments.
Wind Farms at the Center of the Campaign
The offshore wind farm proposal has become a focal point of the Liberal campaign in Paterson. Candidate Laurence Antcliff is prominently featuring opposition to the project on billboards around the region, claiming he’s the only one who will stop Labor’s wind farm plans — a message that appears to be resonating with some voters.
