What does Ian Campbell have against wind farms?

The Australian: Editorial
Wed, Apr 26, 2006

WHEN federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell used a vastly overstated threat to a rare parrot to block a Gippsland wind farm, some critics accused him of having been fully co-opted by the greens in his ministry. Others suggested that the real reason behind the spiking of the project was politics: Senator Campbell fulfilled a promise to local voters opposed to the wind farm, who delivered a large Liberal swing in the marginal seat of McMillan at the last election. Now, Senator Campbell is again playing politics with wind farms – and this time, he hasn't even bothered finding an endangered species with which to cover himself. On Monday, Senator Campbell announced he had written to Regional Services Minister Warren Truss, asking him to block any further funding for the Denmark wind farm in Western Australia. This after the wind farm's backers had received a government grant of up to $240,000 to build the renewable energy development.

Last year, Senator Campbell announced his intention to wrest control over wind farms to Canberra, claiming state Labor governments were forcing turbines on an unwilling populace. It's not hard to see why wind farms can be unpopular. Beyond their supposed threat to parrots and other wild animals, local residents often resent their views being blocked by acres of spinning turbines and feel wind farms hurt their property values. The Denmark wind farm was opposed by 60 families, some of whom reportedly do not live in the area of the site. And again, backyard interests and local politics collided to kill the project, which was to be built not just in Senator Campbell's home state but in the electorate of fellow Liberal Wilson Tuckey.

While Senator Campbell has often – and deservedly – been criticised for having gone too green on some issues, when it comes to wind farms, he is not green enough. Killing the Bald Hills wind farm on scanty evidence of a parrot's presence was bad enough, especially when Senator Campbell's office looks set to give the tick to a Pilbara iron ore mine where three rare night parrots were allegedly seen last year. Any human project is going to have consequences, be it a wind farm or a highway or a nuclear power plant. But so far, wind farms seem like a pretty low-impact way to generate power while meeting mandatory renewable energy impacts.

Threats to wildlife appear to be overstated. And succumbing to not-in-my-backyard arguments is a dangerous road for politicians to go down. Even the economics of wind farms, which at first glance look unsustainable (they are more expensive than coal and require government subsidy) are more nuanced when one examines the details. Greenpeace estimates wind farms could create 3300 jobs, mostly in regional Australia, and pump billions of dollars into the states. Taken together, the nation's wind farms could eventually produce enough green power for hundreds of thousands of homes. But that won't happen as long as Senator Campbell keeps playing politics.