GAME FISHERS are disappointed and scrambling over what to do next after the federal energy minister told a closed-door meeting he would not reopen consultation for a wind farm off Port Stephens.
Hundreds of protesters took their frustrations to the street on Tuesday as Chris Bowen privately met with a group of about a dozen concerned about the impacts of the Hunter Offshore Wind Project.
Newcastle and Port Stephens Game Fishing Club director Brent Hancock said he left the two-hour meeting feeling disappointed.
He said he put questions to Mr Bowen about what locals have slammed as a significant lack of community consultation, and the environmental affects of wind turbines in a major ocean current and wildlife area.
Mr Hancock said Mr Bowen defended the consultation that was done and confirmed he would not reopen submissions into the project.
"Where do we go from here? That's the million-dollar question," Mr Hancock told the Newcastle Herald.
He said Mr Bowen claimed recreational fisherman didn't use the area the wind turbines would cover, but Mr Hancock and other game anglers disputed that.
They said the zone that had been announced covered a world-famous marlin hotspot known as "the car park".
"Obviously, he hasn't done his research properly," Mr Hancock said.
He said he walked in with questions for Mr Bowen but left with them unanswered.
Mr Hancock said he appreciated an "olive branch" to keep lines of communication open with the minister's office, but said the movement to stop the wind farm from being built off Port Stephens needed as much support as it could get.
Mr Bowen refused to speak to media or protesters as hundreds of people rallied outside the bowling club as the invitation-only meeting took place.
Port Stephens fisherman Jamie Culver said he made a Facebook post when the Hunter offshore wind zone was declared and found it was the first a lot of his community had heard of it.
"We're pretty devastated," he told the Herald.
"Fishing and the ocean is the core of our community, it's in our DNA."
He said the fishing industry was worried about the turbines affecting key the East Australian Current, which brings biodiversity, nutrient-rich water and wildlife, with each floating turbine thought to have a displacement area the size of a coal ship.
"We don't want the wind farm off Port Stephens, and we want the consultation reopened," he said.
"I've been speaking to community members and they have said to me, this is the hill they will die on for our town."
He said the Port Stephens area was a renowned tourism spot with pristine ocean habitats and good fishing, and was the home to a major game fishing tournament.
He said the marlin that were tagged in "the car park" were spotted all over the world.
Mr Culver was protesting against the wind zone outside Mr Bowen's meeting spot on Tuesday as crowds chanted "no chance Bowen, the wind farms are going".
He said he was "incredibly frustrated" that it was private, but warned the momentum was starting to build and the offshore wind zone would cost the Labor party votes.
It's understood Paterson MP Meryl Swanson was also at the meeting.
Mr Bowen defended the consultation process in an interview with the ABC on Tuesday morning, and said he was looking forward to a respectful and open chat to work through "genuine issues".
A rival open-door community forum with shadow energy minister Ted O'Brien had been held earlier that morning at the Shoal Bay game fishing club.
Imagine Cruises manager, director of Port Stephens Tourism and resident of 40 years, Frank Future, told the group of about 100 people that the area's pristine nature, water, beaches, wildlife, views and fishing brought hundreds of millions of dollars to the economy.
"Nearly everybody in this room would support renewable energy," he said.
"But this is a marine-based community ... there are not many places in the world you can experience this."
Local Ben Abbott told the forum he had three kids and was worried the wind zone off Port Stephens would cause the area to become "a ghost town".
Key issues raised were the environmental impacts of the wind zone, what residents claim was a lack of community consultation, and the need for more "evidence-based" assessments.
The Port Stephens fishing and tourism sectors have been among the loudest critics of the Hunter Offshore Wind Project since its launch in February.
The project initially took in a 2810 square kilometre area extending from Port Stephens to Norah Head. However, it was ultimately reduced to an 1800 square kilometre area extending from Port Stephens to Swansea.
Mr O'Brien said the community had made it clear they did not accept the declaration of the Hunter offshore wind zone.
"This community is not here today doing some sort of postmortem ... what I heard today was a call to action," he said.
"They have every intention to fight to control the destiny of their own community."
He said he would be taking the issues raised to his colleagues in parliament.
A public protest against the Hunter Offshore Wind Project is scheduled to take place at Victoria Parade, Nelson Bay at 10.30am on Saturday October 7.
The Herald has contacted Mr Bowen's office.
