Farmers for Climate Action CEO Verity Morgan-Schmidt said it was “unbelievable” the site was destroyed despite being identified in the company’s planning approval. It follows the destruction of hollow trees by the same organisation, resulting in the destruction of the homes of 60 native fledgling birds.

“This site was irreplaceable, and the destruction is permanent,” Ms Morgan-Schmidt said.

“Farmers for Climate Action has consistently called for the shift to clean energy to be good to nature, farmers and rural communities. This is fundamentally at odds with achieving that outcome. There are so many good energy projects and companies doing great things for nature and regional communities and it’s so disappointing this has happened. 

“This week we got official confirmation that the default consumer electricity price will fall by up to 10 per cent from 1 July because more clean energy has entered the grid. Small businesses in NSW, south-east Queensland and South Australia will see energy price reductions of up to 21.2 per cent. This proves beyond argument that clean energy pushes prices down. It proves the shift to clean energy is good for anyone who uses electricity. It proves the shift to clean energy is good for your wallet.

“So to have that positive news undermined by such destruction is deeply, deeply disappointing. Farmers for Climate Action has been in discussion with ACEREZ about supporting deeper community engagement, and we call upon them to urgently step up and commit to doing better. This just isn’t good enough.”