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Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association Inc. Position Statement on the Nullarbor Plain karst (ACKMA Journal 133 Dec 2023)
"The development poses significant risks to the Nullarbor karst environment and many of these will seemingly be irreversible. This level of threat to the caves and karst of the Nullarbor is highly contentious, given its potential impact on the geoheritage, biodiversity and scenic amenity of the region, and any development proposal must take these considerations into account. ACKMA is therefore opposed to the Western Green Energy Hub proposal."
Renewable Energy Projects In The Australian Rangelands – What Role For The Australian Rangeland Society?
(From the Range Management Newsletter 24/1)
"Projects ranged in size from under 1 km2 to over 15,000 km2. The majority of solar projects were between 1 km2 and 5 km2 in size, and most wind energy projects were between 100 km2 and 1,000 km2 (Figure 2). The largest five projects are all wind-solar proposals designed to produce hydrogen (with or without conversion to ammonia; Table 1), largely for export. By far the largest of these – the Western Green Energy Hub on the Nullarbor Plain – is touted as the largest green energy project in the world."
Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications. Inquiry on Greenwashing 2023. Submission 93
"I am greatly disturbed by a proposal of which I have recently become aware, dubbed the Western Green Energy Hub (WGEH), to cover large swathes of the Nullarbor Plain with an intensive 'farm' of wind turbines and solar panels, water reticulation systems, channels, grids, townships and associated sewage treatment plants, structures and tracks to generate electrical power for the purpose of creating so-called 'green hydrogen' and 'green ammonia'. "
It's Time The Nullarbor Caves Had World Heritage Status "Australia’s Nullarbor caves are a precious time machine to millions of years ago, and crucial to understanding our future climate. So, why aren’t they World Heritage listed?" By Professor Jon Woodhead, University of Melbourne
"Whatever their future holds, the Nullarbor caves are, undeniably, one of the few landscapes on Earth that have survived intact for close to five million years.
We should make every effort possible to preserve them for future generations.
They are a National treasure, and should be part of our national conversation."
This article was first published on Pursuit.
The Not-So-Plain Nullarbor "Today it’s one of the driest spots in Australia, but just a few million years ago the Nullarbor was flush with trees and plants and had four times as much rain."
By Dr Kale Sniderman and Professor Jon Woodhead, School of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne
"However, some samples remarkably did contain fossil pollen, and these, we realised, could reveal the nature of the vegetation on the Nullarbor when the speleothems were growing. By compiling the pollen records from many individual speleothems, each with its own radiometrically-determined age, we were able to generate a new understanding of arid Australia’s deep past." This article was first published on Pursuit.
The Nullarbor's Incredible Caves “You can drop into a cave, look at a pile of bones and see bandicoots. The Nullarbor barred bandicoot is gone; stick-nest rats: gone; bilbies: gone; mulgaras: gone. And they were so abundant on the Nullarbor; the owls were hunting these animals, bringing thousands back to the caves, coughing up pellets and leaving the bones. But now they are gone. You get quite emotional when you go into a cave and realise that what you're looking at is extinction."
From Wilderness Journal Nullarbor #009
"It just goes to show that if we just look at the land through the filter of today, then we are not really seeing the whole picture," says Dr Liz Reed. A vertebrate palaeontologist at the University of Adelaide, she is studying the Nullarbor’s wealth of ancient animal remains, exploring the fossil record from some 20,000 years ago up to today, to see how biodiversity has responded to environmental change.
Prof Woodhead’s work has been critical in allowing her to understand the ancient climate context of sites where fossils are found, and the closer you get to today, the more sobering it becomes. “If I walk out into the Australian bush, I see a mere shadow of what the original biodiversity was like,” she says.
The Nullarbor’s rich cultural history, vast cave systems and unique animals all deserve better protection From The Conversation Published October 10, 2023
"The Mirning have actively traversed the plain for millennia. Their artwork in its caves, extensive flint mining and artefacts scattered over its surface provide evidence of their presence.
But it’s only in modern times that the plain’s natural values have been threatened. The threats include invasive species, such as foxes, cats, camels and buffel grass, climate change and, perhaps most detrimentally, human activities. Mining, wildlife poaching, uncontrolled tourism and large-scale development, for example a proposed green energy project, could impact much of what makes the Nullarbor Plain so precious.
Greater recognition of the Nullarbor’s superlative natural features is needed to change a common perception that there is nothing out there, and to ensure the preservation of unprotected areas in the region."
But it’s only in modern times that the plain’s natural values have been threatened. The threats include invasive species, such as foxes, cats, camels and buffel grass, climate change and, perhaps most detrimentally, human activities. Mining, wildlife poaching, uncontrolled tourism and large-scale development, for example a proposed green energy project, could impact much of what makes the Nullarbor Plain so precious.
Greater recognition of the Nullarbor’s superlative natural features is needed to change a common perception that there is nothing out there, and to ensure the preservation of unprotected areas in the region."