Concerns raised over Qld's call-in process for assessing renewable projects - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Queensland has introduced a "call-in" process that allows the state government to directly assess renewable energy projects, bypassing some standard local assessment pathways. Concerns have been raised that the process lacks transparency and proper scrutiny, with questions about how projects are selected for call-in and whether due process is being observed.

Where this fits

This policy bears directly on cost and timeline. Renewable projects face a long, multi-layered approval gauntlet: local councils, state environmental assessment, federal biodiversity review, grid connection assessment, and now a discretionary state call-in mechanism. Each layer adds delay and legal risk. The faster approvals move, the lower financing costs and the less the project cost inflates. But a non-transparent call-in process invites legal challenge and creates uncertainty for investors, which raises the cost of capital and slows deployment. For a grid transition already burdened by transmission bottlenecks and material supply constraints, slower approvals mean higher whole-system costs and longer exposure to high-emission backup generation.

What it means

Queensland is critical to Australia's renewable build. Lack of clarity in the approval process will cool investment, extend timelines, and increase project costs, exactly when the grid needs rapid, cost-effective renewable deployment to reduce reliance on gas for firming. But the deeper issue is that even a perfectly streamlined approval process cannot solve the intermittency problem renewables introduce. Fast approvals help; they do not replace firm power. Australia still lacks a lawful pathway to build the low-emission firm capacity that would allow renewables to displace gas entirely. Faster renewables, without that pathway, simply locks in gas for longer.