The $12 billion Snowy Hydro 2.0 pumped hydro project has been besieged by delays and cost blowouts.Credit:James Brickwood
Before the change,the park’s plan of management required “all additional telecommunication and transmission lines to be located underground”.
The NPA estimated more than 100 hectares of parkland would need to be cleared for the new transmission lines,while the government previously put the figure at 81 hectares. Kosciuszko National Park is about 690,000 hectares in total.
The association’s challenge before the NSW Land and Environment Court claimed the department secretary failed to consider environmental and conservation objectives,as required by the National Parks and Wildlife Act,before preparing and publicly exhibiting the draft amendments to the park’s management plan.
However,chief judge Brian Preston found on Friday this wasbased on an incorrect reading of the law. Regardless,he also found the government had considered those objectives at the proper time,relying principally on three affidavits and oral evidence from National Parks and Wildlife Service director Mark Pettitt.
Pettitt told the court the NPWS carefully considered those matters as it was “concerned about the potential precedent that may be set by allowing works such as overhead transmission lines” to be built in the national park. It wanted to ensure the government maintained the ban on new above-ground lines for all future development in the park except Snowy 2.0,he said.
National Parks Association executive Ted Woodley said the organisation was “bitterly disappointed” by the court’s decision.
“This is the first time in 50 years that overhead transmission lines will be built in a national park,” he said,describing Kosciuszko as “one of our jewels”. “These towers and[transmission] lines will be visible over 200 square kilometres of the park and the neighbouring state forest.”