Winds of change stir up a rift in rural community
The Age - October 18, 2008
FROM the top of canola-rich Stockyard Hill, Gary Tayler sees no
problem.
Green energy company Wind Power plans to build Victoria's biggest wind
farm — 282 turbines — in his patch west of Ballarat. He wants 22 of them
on his property.
Under a deal stuck last year, this would boost his family's bottom line
by $165,000 a year, rising with inflation, and play a small role in
helping wean Australia off fossil fuels.
"We couldn't see any reason why we wouldn't do it," Mr Tayler says.
"Most of the turbines will go on to what is stone country. When a
situation like this that is not going to interrupt what we're doing
comes along, why not take it?"
Cassie Franzose is on the other side of the fence, literally and
figuratively. From behind the stone walls of the Federation-era property
Mawallok, she says wind farms have their place, just not here.
She says birds will be put at risk and the landscape scarred by signs of
industry: wider roads, infrastructure connecting turbines to the
electricity grid and red flashing lights warning planes to keep their
distance. She says it will ruin the vista from Mawallok's
heritage-listed gardens, crafted by 19th-century master landscaper
William Guilfoyle.
"Our group is very supportive of renewable energy, but we want renewable
energy that has a low impact on the environment," says Ms Franzose, who
chairs the Western Plains Landscape Guardians Association.
"It really feels that the way projects like this are being brought in
and imposed is just tearing at the fabric of of rural communities."
There have been fights over wind farms in Victoria before — most
controversially over a Wind Power proposal at Bald Hills, Gippsland, and
its impact on the endangered orange-bellied parrot — but never over a
plan of this scope.
While Stockyard Hill is little more than a smudge on a map halfway
between the tiny towns of Beaufort and Skipton, the wind farm would
spread much further — across 250 square kilometres.
Tension over the proposal has grown since Wind Power began approaching
land holders 18 months ago, but reached new levels this week when the
State Government ruled there was no need for a formal environmental
effects study — the usual test required of major projects. Six of the 23
smaller wind farms approved in Victoria have faced a formal inquiry.
As at Bald Hills, some of the concern is about bird life. The western
volcanic plains grasslands is home to many threatened species, including
the southern brolga, the golden sun moth and the striped legless lizard.
Planning Minister Justin Madden's decision rebuffed not only the
self-appointed landscape guardians and several birds' groups but also
the Pyrenees Shire Council, which received no response to its submission
calling for a thorough study.
But Wind Power engineer Ross Richards says the decision was made because
the company had already ordered its own reports, including into the
impact on brolgas.
The Government has ordered that the ramifications for Mawallok's
heritage listing must also be examined before a final decision is made.
Meanwhile, the fight goes on. Ms Franzose says friendships have broken
down and public meetings have descended into threats of violence. She
wants the Government to meet the landscape guardians to explain why they
are "imposing their views without fair process".
"Like the water pipeline and the desal plant, country people just aren't
getting a fair say," she says.
Mr Tayler disputes that public meetings have seen anything like the
reported level of acrimony.
As he sees it, the local community has much to gain. Wind Power has
pledged there will be an annual $500 payment for each turbine into a
community fund to be spent on local projects — roads or sporting clubs,
for instance.
"I've been here all my life and it's the first real influx of money into
the area since the soldier settlement back in the '50s," said Mr Tayler.
"And nobody owns a view in today's world." |
