‘Mockery of proper process’: Minister hides solar farm details from public

Environment Minister Murray Watt’s office has refused to release documents detailing the Victorian Planning Minister’s justification for approving what is set to become one of Australia’s largest solar farms, arguing to do so “could cause damage to relations between the commonwealth and a state”, in a decision slammed as “farcical” by an eminent planning expert.

Neighbours of the proposed Meadow Creek Solar Farm, in northeast Victoria, applied in Nov­ember for access under Freedom of Information to the project’s “assessment report”, sent by Victorian Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny to Senator Watt.

The report is intended to inform the federal government’s decision on whether to give the $750m, 566ha, 332 megawatt solar farm and 250MW battery final approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

On January 7, Senator Watt’s chief of staff, Michelle Healy, responded to the request, revealing the minister’s office held two relevant documents, totalling 25 pages.

“I have decided to refuse access to the documents,” Ms Healy wrote.

“I have decided the documents you have requested are exempt under the FOI Act as they contain information which would, or could reasonably be expected to, cause damage to relations between the commonwealth and a state.”

RMIT emeritus professor of environment and planning Michael Buxton said the refusal exposed “secret deal-making … that makes a mockery of proper process for this project”.

“Minister Watt claims it is not in the public interest for people to know the Victorian government’s assessment of a project of public importance,” Professor Buxton said.

“This perverts the notion of ministerial responsibility by ­ignoring the rights of the community to know.

“Watt’s reason for not disclosing the Victorian assessment because it would or could damage relations between the commonwealth and a state is farcical.

“The entire approvals process has made a sham of government responsibility to public interest.”

Professor Buxton said unlike other renewable energy projects, no independent environmental assessment of Meadow Creek had been conducted under Victoria’s Environmental Assessments Act.

“Instead the (Victorian) government used the fast-tracking process under the Planning and Environment Act, which specifically denies objectors their accepted rights,” he said.

He said the bilateral agreement between the federal and Victorian government had en­abled the state’s “inadequate” assessment of the proposal to be used to justify a commonwealth decision. “This makes a mockery of Minister Watt’s approach to his responsibilities under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act,” Professor Buxton said.

“All this is done under the guise of reducing assessment time and the burden to project applicants. ‘Fast-tracking’ is clearly all that counts for both governments.”

The withheld documents comprise a letter from Ms Kilkenny to Senator Watt “regarding the assessment report for the Meadow Creek Solar Farm project”, dated October 19, 2025, and the September assessment report.

The Allan government approved the project in late October, under fast-tracked planning laws introduced in 2024, which left the local community with no avenue for appeal, despite more than 500 objections being submitted.

Concerns include impacts on endangered species; contamination of nearby watercourses in the King River catchment, upstream of Wangaratta; increased fire risk; and the associated likelihood that neighbours would be uninsurable.

Senator Watt’s office had been required to complete its assessment under the EPBC Act by December 5, but extended the deadline to Friday, January 16.

In her response to Meadow Creek Agricultural Community Action Group spokeswoman Jess Conroy, who made the FOI application, Ms Healy said she consulted with third parties “about documents which contain information concerning them” in making her decision, and had considered “the nature of the ­documents” and “the minister’s office operating environment and functions”.

In detailing her argument that the release of the documents could damage commonwealth-state relations, Ms Healy noted that the guidelines in the FOI Act “relevantly” state that disclosure “may cause damage by, for example, interrupting or creating difficulty in negotiations or dis­cussions … under way, including in the development of joint or parallel policy; adversely affecting the administration of a continuing commonwealth-state project; substantially impairing, but not merely modifying, commonwealth-state programs; adversely affecting the continued level of trust or co-operation in existing inter-office relationships; or impairing or prejudicing the flow of information to and from the commonwealth”.

In response to questions about whether Australians could have confidence in the planning process for the solar farm, given the lack of transparency, a spokeswoman for Senator Watt said: “As this project is currently being considered under the EPBC Act through bilateral assessments with the Victorian government, the information requested was not able to be provided at the time.”

“The Albanese government continues to comply with all its obligations under EPBC and FOI processes,” she said.