Why we need to support wind farms

Ballan News
24/08/2006 Page: 12

Why we need to support wind farms, and why the Liberal party have environmental policies that are so wrong

I would like to thank Geoffrey Blunt for his letter to the editor last week. I have been accused of many things in my time, some of them justified, but a stooge of the labour party, hey, I do have some pride left. In no way am I part of the union superannuation industry (Although it appears to be a very well run superannuation scheme)

So why am I passionate about wind farms and why am I so negative about the Liberal parties pathetic, outdated and unfriendly environmental policies.

I believe that clean energy is essential to Australia's future. Geoffrey talks about if wind farms are viable, then let them be built, otherwise let's not subsidise them. I argue that the current brown coal fired electrical generation system have an unfairly advantaged in that they are allowed to pump out greenhouse admitting pollution every hour of every day of every year and do not have to pay for the clean up of the atmosphere (if this will be ever possible)

Nuclear power and wind power have to jump through environmental hoops, but the filthy brown coal industry is just allowed to run it's own course, not being accountable for its polluting outputs at all.

My beef with the Liberal party is that they don't actually take the environment seriously. They are only interested in their own short lived politically future. The Liberal party talk about free enterprise and user pays, but this paradigm will only ruin our environment further. We need to allow long term political views that use science and technology to advance the way we treat the environment. Not that the Labour party is much different, but at least they appear to value our environment more and are having an attempt at making a difference.

Ted Baillieu is a classic, a Liberal politician who does not care for the environment at all in any way shape or form. His policy is to have a moratorium on any more wind farm projects in the state until legislation is in place to control their development. "My concern is that wind farms are not being regulated in this state," Mr Baillieu said. "There's no legislation covering them." Well done Ted, lets just stop them altogether. Teds view is to have local government approve them. Can you imagine the local Moorabool councillors being able to make such an important decision on wind farms when the councillors and the shire cannot even get a rubbish transfer station up and running in Mt Egerton, let alone Ballan?

Will Ted follow Liberal senator Campbell's view and stop a 52 wind turbine development in provinical Victoria because a parrot or an eagle may be killed once every 1000 years. This is the absolute rubbish that is coming out of the Liberal party and the Liberal party needs to be brought to account and taken apart piece by piece until they change their anti envrionment policy. We can not have these people taking us into the next generation when their views are so far from what is needed for all Australians.

Windfarms are good for the environment, good for country Victoria and good for future jobs. They make good environmental and enonomic sense in every way.

Denmark produces 20 per cent of its electricity from wind, Germany five per cent and Europe is aiming to produce 12 per cent of its total electricity consumption from wind by 2020. Do the Europeans have it wrong? I don't think so.

What's your opinion?