Feathers fly over wind farm ban(enviro-friendly wind farm killed by ecofreaks)

The Age ^ | 04/06/06 | Liz Minchin, Nassim Khadem and Peter Ker

[TigerLikesRooster]

Feathers fly over wind farm ban

By Liz Minchin, Nassim Khadem and Peter Ker

April 6, 2006

THE future of wind energy in Australia is under a cloud after the Federal Government blocked a proposed $220 million wind farm in South Gippsland to protect a rare parrot — despite a report showing that the bird has rarely flown near the site.

Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell yesterday sparked a slanging match after overturning the Victorian Government's approval of the Bald Hills wind farm, near Tarwin Lower, on the grounds that it may affect the endangered orange-bellied parrot.

Senator Campbell said he had reluctantly decided to use the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to block the wind farm because of the small possibility that it could cause "up to one bird death per year" . "Every precaution should be taken to help prevent the extinction of this rare bird."

He stressed that his decision would not affect other proposed wind farms. "The issue we're faced with here won't have an impact in other parts in Australia, and it will create clarity for people building wind farms in this section in Victoria."

The State Government approved the 52-turbine Bald Hills wind farm project in 2004 after its potential impact on wildlife was cleared by an independent panel.

In a letter setting out reasons for overriding the approval, Senator Campbell conceded there had been only a few sightings of the parrots in South Gippsland, but said "the failure to identify orange-bellied parrots does not mean they do not use the area".

According to a consultant's report commissioned by the Federal Government, no orange-bellied parrots were seen near Bald Hills, nor near any other proposed wind farm sites in Victoria apart from Yambuk and Nirranda South, both near Warrnambool.

It said the parrots' usual migratory path was over Victoria's south-west coast, and they had only rarely been seen in Gippsland.

The report said the likelihood of a parrot hitting turbines "may be very small — even barely noticeable — compared with natural mortality".

It concluded that banning wind farms "will have extremely limited beneficial value to the conservation of the parrot".

While local anti-wind farm campaigners applauded the Federal Government's intervention, the State Government, the wind industry and environment groups expressed outrage, accusing Senator Campbell of opportunism.

State Planning Minister Rob Hulls said the Liberal Party had campaigned against wind farms at the last federal election, a policy that helped its local candidate, Russell Broadbent, wrest the marginal seat of McMillan from Labor. Mr Hulls said Senator Campbell had written to McMillan residents before the election, implying he would not allow the wind farm.

"He made it clear in the letter that if you voted for the ALP federal candidate, what you were voting for was wind farms in your area," Mr Hulls said.

"His blatant political decision today is not only inappropriate, but will call into question future investment in renewable energy right around the country."

Renewable Energy Generators of Australia chief executive Susan Jeanes said: "You're never going to have a renewable energy industry if we don't have some investment certainty, and the politicisation of the planning process is not conducive to that."

The company behind the Bald Hills proposal, Wind Power, said the decision was "completely unreasonable" and would deter businesses wanting to invest in infrastructure projects in regional and rural areas.

Tim Le Roy, spokesman for the Tarwin Valley Coastal Guardians, said most locals would be delighted with the ban. "There were over 1500 objections to the proposal."

Mr Broadbent described the decision as a win for locals. "If people want to put wind farms in sensitive areas, they need to take a close look at how the local community is going to respond," he said.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Maybe we should go back to coal power plants burning low grade coals, with bellowing pitch black smoke from its smoke stacks.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[ArcadeQuarters]

Proving once again that left-wing environmentalists are anti-business, not pro environment.

[truemiester]

since the enviromenta wackos area gainst coal and wind, lets build a huge nuke right on the hill.

A much more reasonable approach would be to dress up in all black, armed with shot guns and shoot all the parrots you see. If they are extint then there is not reason to not build the wind farm.

[SIDENET]

More proof that enviro-freaks will bitch about anything.

[backhoe]

Allow me to drop out of Lurk and Link Mode for a rare bit of commentary- we all need to get serious about our dependency on foreign sources of energy, and use our own resources.

Our consumer-based economy is driven by readily-available, reliable energy-- choke that off, and we'll be back to using one rotary dial phone in the dining room and driving one car per family-- probably a Hudson Hornet...

We need to

1) end the nonsensical ban on offshore drilling off California and Florida

2) build a lot of next-generation nuclear power plants, not just for electricity, but for any process requiring heat, power, or steam.

3) end Jimmy Carter's idiotic ban on recycling nuclear waste, and reprocess the stuff rather than fighting over where to bury it. Europe has done it for decades.

4) use the 300-500 years worth of coal we have on our own land, using the new clean-coal technology.

5) and finally, there's nothing wrong with conservation- but you can't conserve your way out of a shortage- we need to get serious about this before we get strangled by a bunch of petty thieves and dictators who don't like us much.

My tongue-in-cheek collection of energy-related links:

Sticker Shock-$3 a gallon gas? Click the picture:

And note, and note well-- the first reply to this post ( when gas was less than $1.50 a gallon ) was derisive... so, who's laughing now?

[M1Tanker]

Yet another in a long list of examples showing that NO rational solution will work for the environuts.

Now killing 80% of humanity (i.e. Zero Population Fund and other nut-cases who somehow get listed in the CFC-Combined Federal Campaign) and returning to "gaia" after killing all the Christians and Jews. That is a "reasonable" plan for the enviros.

If you follow the money, I will bet you will find that some of the lead opponents have financial stakes against the wind-farm. Just like following GreenPeace's money, you find these socialist organizations are the very example of "evil corporations" they project onto everyone else.
http://www.activistcash.com

[tlb]

>>>> Senator Campbell said he had reluctantly decided to use the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to block the wind farm because of the small possibility that it could cause "up to one bird death per year" .

He's right, killing that bird would be murder most fowl.

[gafusa]

Shoot at the enviro-freaks instead, I have nothing against parrots. Then build the nuke.

[truemiester]

Yes, of course, but parrots taste like chicken.

I don't even want to think about what a hippy would taste like!

[Rakkasan1]

I think countries that signed Kyoto should be the first on the list to start killing themselves. start with their "leaders" since apparently they buy into this.

[truth_seeker]

Any bird species worth keeping can damn well learn to fly around the wind farm.

Evolution. Survival of the fittest.

[M1Tanker]

Did you notice that the loudest Kyoto Signers were the first to jump ship a year later? It's amazing that these same countries who attacked the President for not signing that poorly written excuse for a treaty are now trying desperately to get as far away from it as possible.

Even the founder of GreenPeace came out against Kyoto. But the left never let facts and reality get in their way in the past, why start now?

[Rakkasan1]

our prez didn't take the bait and switch trick to ruin our
economy.

[NZerFromHK]

Ping! Things are a bit interesting oops!

[Fair Go]

We need all the renewable energy we can get. The best way to protect the birds is to declare an open season on the ferral cats that have invaded the Australian bush and that are wiping out the native wildlife. Shooters who hunt ferral game are great environmentalists.