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More than 400 people came together in Moe on Sunday to honour the memory of Riley ‘Choppy’ Pearce. Att ttendees t took part in the inaugural Walk With Chop community fun run/walk, raising money for mental health service Mindfull Aus.
Moe united
VALE JOHN GUY
STORY - PAGE 21
Photograph Liam Durkin
PAGE 3
Wind farm blowback THE more than 1000 Latrobe Valley residents opposed to the 200-megawat Delburn Wind Farm (DWF) have vowed not to give up the fight and aim to attract new supporters, arguing the legitimate fears of the grass-roots community has been ignored by the Supreme Court and the state government. The Strzelecki Community Alliance (SCA), an incorporated association of more than 1000 members, said it had been strong for more than four years and had raised more than $200,000 for the fight. “The members are united and are not going away. Never before in Australia has a wind farm with offshore-sized turbines been proposed to be so close to so many people and placed within a location well known for serious bushfire events,” SCA said. Supreme Court Justice Melinda Richards found last month that no part of the wind farm was within five kilometres of three towns in the Latrobe
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Valley and was thus not contrary to the Latrobe planning scheme. The 33-turbines, each 250 metres high, will be located on pine-plantation land overlapping the Delburn complex fire impact area. The site is bounded by Coalville to the north, Thorpdale to the west, Darlimurla to the south and Boolarra and Yinnar to the east. With intermittent wind creating worldwide an average 30 per cent capacity of the nominal 200MW output, Delburn is expected to produce on average 70MW of power. The SCA said in the increasing rush to rollout renewable energy, no consideration had been given to the near neighbours (residents living within 5km of any turbine), the increased risks to them, nor the long term effects on the upcoming generations. “Near neighbours are denied rights, voice and power to fight the developers and government as they bulldoze ahead with renewable energy targets,” the group said. Renewable energy targets and the
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greater good of the wider community were the government’s justification to dismiss the genuine concerns of the near neighbours of the DWF - “those who will be most greatly impacted by the development”. The SCA said the developers want the community to believe the glossy sales pitch. “They seek out a willing host for their turbines. “They go to great lengths to lure friends and individuals to act as supporters and spokespersons to assure the community that this wind farm is for the greater good,” it said. “They will dismiss any opposition as NIMBYs and ‘climate deniers’. “It’s just one of a number of strategies to shoo away naysayers, shut down complaints and attempt to get the project over the line as quietly as possible.” SCA said the trouble for the Delburn developers was the assumption that the immediate neighbours and surrounding communities would roll over and quietly go away.
They were not prepared for the Strzelecki Community Alliance, which believes the community has the right to factual information. “Let us be clear; we support the transition to renewable energy. However, we have grave concerns about the location of this wind farm. “We will hold OSMI, Delburn Wind Farm, its current international owners, the landholder, local councils and the government to account,” SCA said. “We are committed to ensuring that every condition of the DWF planning permit is met, and that the construction and operation of the wind farm does not cause harm to the community.” The SCA said it continued to grow in numbers and “welcomes near neighbours of the DWF to join the alliance as we move forward”. “The alliance will continue to offer the near neighbours’ guidance, support and advice as we focus on informing the community. Continued Page 5
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