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The globally renowned rainforest and pristine waterways of the Daintree in far north Queensland attract hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, but it comes as a surprise to most that locals must burn millions of litres of diesel each year to generate electricity.
More than 800 residents in the Daintree Rainforest World Heritage area have been campaigning for upwards of 30 years to change that, arguing they needed to be connected to an electricity network.
Until the former Newman government changed the laws in 2012, building power infrastructure in the World Heritage site between the Daintree River and Wujal Wujal had been outlawed.
Over the years since, residents have grown increasingly frustrated by a lack of action to bring them onto the grid.
The Daintree township of Cow Bay has one power pole nestled among trees outside the Cow Bay Hotel.
It was erected more than 20 years ago when the hotel was built, in preparation for connection to a grid expected back then that never materialised.
Two decades later, the town is still many years away from having that power pole connected.
But Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg visited the Daintree yesterday to tell locals moves are afoot to search for a solution.
He addressed a community meeting alongside members of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), whom he has tasked with investigating ways to power the region.
Photo:
Alan Bidwell said he believed they had a right to mains electricity. (ABC News: Casey Briggs)
Alan Bidwell runs the Heritage Lodge hotel and spa and said he used 200 litres of diesel a day in his generator, at a cost of about $70,000 a year.
Collectively, it is estimated residents and businesses in the region together burn up to 3 million litres of diesel each year.
"When the power goes out in Adelaide, or you have a cyclone the power goes out somewhere else, it's a national outcry because they lose power for a day," Mr Bidwell said.
"But they do have power to start with. I think it's a right to be offered power, whether you use it or not."
Like many, he had resigned himself to the predicament remaining unsolved.
"I think it started long before I was here, and I think it might still be going long after I'm gone, but we have to make attempts to see if we can get somewhere."
Minister promises action
Mr Frydenberg said he wanted a solution, but added the Queensland Government needed to be involved.
Nobody from the State Government was present at yesterday's meeting.
"It's a remarkable community, it's a resilient community, and now it wants a better deal when it comes to energy ... we have an obligation to support them," Mr Frydenberg said afterwards.
"We've been very successful with ARENA in providing new power solutions to remote communities.
"Lord Howe Island and remote communities in the Northern Territory are good examples."
It remains unlikely the Daintree region will be connected to the national electricity grid.
The next best thing for residents would be a small power grid with its own electricity generator, known as a micro-grid.
This would have some form of base load power that could either be from renewable sources such as solar or hydro, or from fuel like diesel.
Russell O'Doherty, who leads the campaign to bring grid power to the Daintree, labelled the meeting "an absolutely amazing success".
"Everyone can see that there's a way forward and everyone went away with a smile on their face," Mr O'Doherty said.
He said he had been frustrated by the lack of State Government support for their plight.
"All we're asking for is the same thing that everyone else in Australia has access to."
'Trees will be knocked down'
But Cow Bay resident Steve Sponberg said he thought they were all barking up the wrong tree.
Mr Sponberg powers his home with 75 solar panels and said he only rarely resorted to using his diesel back-up generator.
"If any electrical infrastructure were to be put in place, it's going to require trees to be knocked down [and] bushland to be cleared," he said.
"You can imagine how much damage is going to be done to our pristine rainforest."
Mr Sponberg said if a micro-grid was established, he would have to think carefully before signing up.
"At the moment I receive free power — if they can come up with something more cost-effective than free, I'm all for it," he said.
Mr Sponberg said he would rather see more support to help people move to renewable energy off-grid, particularly the power-hungry businesses that were most feeling the pinch.
Mr O'Doherty pointed out connecting to a grid would not be compulsory.
"There are a small minority of people up here that don't want grid power, and that's fine ... there'll be no compulsion for them to connect to a network," he said.
Topics: electricity-energy-and-utilities, federal---state-issues, regional-development, rain-forests-and-forest, environmental-impact, environmentally-sustainable-business, tourism, daintree-4873, cairns-4870
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