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Windfarms in Gippsland - Howard Emanuel

On Sunday the 13th of June I attended a public rally on the beach at beautiful Walkerville South, one of the most picturesque and ambient enclaves on the South Gippsland coastline. Read More....

By Howard Emanuel - 26th August 2004 - Back to News

On Sunday the 13th of June I attended a public rally on the beach at beautiful Walkerville South, one of the most picturesque and ambient enclaves on the South Gippsland coastline. On a winter’s day with the sky rapidly filling with low black clouds myself, my wife Madalen and our 3 children walked along the beach form Walkerville North to "South", looking to the sky and bemoaning the lack of a raincoat. And rain it did, big solid drops, but in no way did the downpour, much needed anyway, dampen the spirits of the people who had gathered.

 

It was estimated that somewhere in the vicinity of 300 people were there on the day to join in a peaceful rally, an expression I think of the level of community interest that exists in the issue of windfarm development in Gippsland and indeed Victoria.

 

Much has been said in regards to windfarm developments but I think it is vital that the community be given the opportunity to express their views, whatever they may be and I do hope the Bracks government takes on board the many concerns that exist. For my part I greatly enjoy this form of public meeting that we had yesterday. And the benefits are many. Being out in the open in a lovely natural setting, it is easier I think for people to communicate among themselves without the "heat" that is sometimes generated when we are all close together, packed into some hall somewhere.

 

Whilst most in the community I would think know that indeed we must at some time begin to address the matter of our energy requirements and how we meet that need, there are so many unanswered questions regarding windfarms and the pluses and minuses.

 

It is fair to say that there is community angst at present and I think the government has essentially failed to show much if any leadership on this issue. Essentially it seems the Bracks government is willing for the community and prospective developers to indulge in a struggle around the many issues that manifest. And one of the most contentious matters at hand, is where indeed these windfarms are to be sited.

 

My view is that it should not and does not have to be this way. If we look overseas to Europe, America and the UK, where windfarms have been in place for at least the past 20 years, there is an enormous amount of data and information available on how windfarms contribute or otherwise to the production of energy for our consumption. Does this technology in fact have an impact on reducing greenhouse emissions, do communities feel comfortable living in close proximity, are their any health impacts etc etc.

 

I cannot understand why we are proceeding with windfarm development until we have that data in hand, otherwise we may infact support expensive development that in the end has questionable value. I have argued for the approach of gathering all available data from overseas through the CSIRO and state departments and then holding a discussion at community level in regards to how valuable a contribution windfarms can make.

 

Yesterdays rally at Walkerville was to do specifically with the proposed "Bald Hills" windfarm facility. The chosen site for this proposed development is right next to the Bald Hills Wetland Reserve and of course there is concern in the community regarding the conflicting values of these two locations. As benign as some would have us believe that windfarms are they still have impacts and they are still industrial infrastructure and they impose heavily on the surrounding scape

 

For my mind it shows a disregard I think for the sensitivities that exist in the community in regards to the value we place on natural landscapes and this includes enclaves such as the wetlands reserve, put in place to preserve a microcosm of what existed before, so as we can ensure the continuance of the native flora and fauna that once abounded in this region. This is important for the sake of our children, so as they have a tangible connection to the natural values of their home.

 

The issue of where windfarms should or could be best placed needs much community discussion and I don’t think that has occurred. I do believe there is some willingness to compromise in the community, most want to see our energy needs met in the least invasive manner, but a compromise that is worth anything must be a joint effort. Developers need to understand the sensitivities that exist in regards to people’s relationship with these coastal areas, relationships that span whole lives and indeed generations.

 

 One of my main work and interest areas is human behaviour and a discreet part of this interest is the emotional platform that we all need to ensure we not only survive the onslaughts of modern society, but further we develop a constructive and lasting relationship with that society that will enable us to progress into the future, as we must. The beauty, peace and tranquillity of our natural landscapes goes a long way to provide a buttress and a salve against the impacts of our increasingly complex society. If we retain natural land areas that are not despoiled and compromised, that are not developed so as they look exactly the same as the average city scape; but offer us the opportunity to interact with nature and derive the inherent benefits of that experience, my sense is we can grow into the future.

 

But if we compromise the value of every square inch of our living environment then we become susceptible to emotional decline, because we don’t have the opportunity to experience all that life has to offer us, all that was meant to be. All we need to feel our lives have a balance between meeting the needs of a growing society and experiencing nature in its purest forms.

 

The state government as the appropriate statutory body should I believe enact a moratorium on further windfarm developments in Victoria until such time as we can debate the issue in the community fully armed with all the facts, and not based on supposition, maybe’s, heresay’s, probablies, projections and the like.

 

I was also recently one of four guest speakers at another community windfarm meeting in Dumbalk, South Gippsland in mid May, where nearly 400 people were present. This meeting was to discuss the proposed Dollar/Foster North windfarm development, which is a project of the Meridian Company; a 100% New Zealand government owned organisation.

 

Dollar/ Foster North area of course sits up in the hills overlooking Wilson’s Prom and the Corner Inlet district and is already the permanent home to several hundred families and the developers propose to place a 60 odd turbine windfarm right in the middle of what is essentially a residential/ farming enclave. These families have spent many years developing these small properties, they are their homes and I ask you in all fairness who of us given the choice would choose to live within several hundred meters of a commercial windfarm development if we didn’t have too. Remember these families have lived here for many years, before any industrial developments were proposed, not vice versa.

 

We don’t need to place windfarms close to populated areas. With proper research and planning , (if it is proven windpower is beneficial), and if the developers are prepared to compromise, these windfarms can impact on the least amount of people possible. Common sense I think these days says we don’t join industry and residential living any more than we have to.

 

And will land values in the near vicinity of the windfarms decrease, I believe it is common sense to suggest they will. If the company says that is not the case, which at present is their opinion, then I think it fair that they offer to buy out any landowner who wishes to leave due to the proposed development, and buy them out at the value the property was worth prior to the windfarm proposal becoming public knowledge. In other words if there is to be no net loss in property value then let the developer act with fairness and give the land owners the ability to leave the area with adequate financial resources to settle elsewhere in the district without suffering any financial loss.

 

There is a move at foot I believe in Australia at present, probably stimulated in some way by the behaviour of some of our banks in the pat 10 years or so that demands that business act in a fair and ethical manner. It is common sense on the business operators part to do this as values in the community are changing and we demand fairness in the way businesses operate, so to be popular among the population makes good business sense as well as being the proper and just way to behave. Companies that impose themselves on the community, that do not listen and refuse to compromise in any meaningful way due to their power and influence, will I think in the long run loose the support of the community and face a decreasing market share. This is of course only right.

 

If the pressure to develop windfarms continues at the current rate it will not only be coastal communities that will have to deal with this issue. Inland communities across Gippsland will likely feel the presence of the developing consortiums and companies as the pressure increases on the government to not exclusively target coastal communities with these projects. There are widespread wind resources available across many parts of Gippsland, not just on the coast. It is I feel in the best interests of all Gippslanders to take an interest in the current debate concerning windpower, to gain knowledge and information, to be ready to engage in a meaningful debate with the proponents of any development. That way the facts will come out and if we then progress, we progress in the full knowledge that at this time we are taking the best route possible in securing our energy needs into the future.

 

Yes all of us want to find a better way to produce electricity, to ratchet downwards the emissions that are produced from coal fired power stations, but we need to ensure that the methods we employ to achieve this most admirable goal are sustainable and beneficial for both the consumer and the environment. All though somewhat benign in comparison with the power stations in the Latrobe Valley, windfarms can have a negative effect on human health, only in a more subtle way that we do not currently fully appreciate nor understand.

 

Well it is my view that we need to take careful steps on the road to progress, to date I don’t think this has been the case with windfarms and as our elected leaders it is now quite obviously the time for premier Bracks to enact the mandate on which he was elected. That is to lead the people of Victoria into a bright and prosperous future with the security of knowing we are progressing as we go and not merely using whatever resources are out there at our disposal for short term gain, at the cost of irreparable damage to the heritage that belongs to us all, that is our communities, and our natural environment.

 

Thank-you for reading.

 

Howard Emanuel - Bringing the People back into Policy!

 

 

www.HowardEmanuel.com

 


Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: kris@howardemanuel.com



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