Willmott wants wind farm

Yarram Standard News
Wednesday 7/3/2007 Page: 5

WHILE opponents to the Devon North wind farm prepare submissions to a VCAT hearing regarding the proposal, so too is one man who is in favour of the nine turbine project. Terry Willmott will argue the wind farm will meet Australian noise standards and the proposal is in a suitable location. The Devon North resident will not appear at the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal hearing due to family reasons but will lodge a submission.

Mr Willmott believes the local couple who agreed to have the wind industry developed on their Devon North property has every right to host the proposed wind farm, as the land is zoned rural. He sees this as equivalent to an industrial zone in a city.

He said the Wellington Shire Council "was totally wrong in knocking this back" "It comes back to my point that these opponents should not be living there because it's a rural zone. They should be in a rural residential area so how can they complain when a farmer is doing this? "A wind farm is farming a natural resource and that is what a rural area is all about." `The council should know the planning regulations up there. Council should be leaders on the issue and be saying, 'These are the regulations and people should not be living there," Mr Willmott said.

Further to claims by opponents that erecting more wind farms in South Gippsland would transform the region into an industrial wasteland, Mr Willmott believes the region already is. "The second highest polluter in Australia behind the coal fired power stations is dairy cattle and South Gippsland has the highest intensity of dairy cattle in Australia," he said.

"Imagine the methane these cattle are producing. You can't see it but imagine the mess. You've got the whole of the Latrobe Valley, which is the biggest polluter in Australia and then the dairy cattle, and you realise Gippsland is in a hell of a mess:"

He went on to say,"Then you've got all of these people screaming about a wind farm that is trying to take away from all of the pollution." In addressing claims by opponents they will lose money if the wind farm goes ahead while the landholder wishing to host the wind farm profits, Mr Willmott gave his slant.

"People on wages would make nearly the same amount of money over 20 years anyway," referring to the mooted 20 year life span of the wind farm. "If you are going to have money, you are going out there to make money out of it.

The VCAT hearing will be held at council's Sale offices from March 28 to 30.