Help for parrot in new wind bid

Age
Wednesday 20/9/2006 Page: 6

DEVELOPER wind power is offering to contribute almost $1 million to help save the orange-bellied parrot from extinction in its latest bid to build a 52-turbine wind farm in South Gippsland.

Federal Environment Minister Tan Campbell announced yesterday that he would consider a new proposal for the $220 million wind farm at Bald Hills. He banned the project in April, citing evidence that one orange-bellied parrot a year could be killed if 23 wind farms went ahead in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

wind power director Andrew Newbold said the company had offered to contribute $750,000 to the "orange-bellied parrot conservation and recovery activities" and $625,000 to a fund to be used for any project considered important by locals.

Mr Newbold said the submission argued that Senator Campbell had considered the cumulative effect on the parrot of 23 wind farms - 14 of which had not even been built - when he was legally obliged to consider only the impact of the Bald Hills proposal.

Senator Campbell agreed to reconsider the wind farm proposal after wind power dropped a Federal Court appeal. His about-turn came after it was revealed the minister took 450 days to veto the first wind farm proposal and ignored advice from one of his top bureaucrats that there did not appear to be evidence the parrot would be endangered by the Bald Hills project.

When asked if he was hopeful that he would finally get his project approved, Mr Newbold said: "To the extent that I believe we are a properly run democratic society, I am optimistic. If that's not the case, clearly we'll get knocked off."

Senator Campbell said the public had 21 days from today to comment. But the State Government said the project had already been through an exhaustive and independent public consultation process.

"This has been a debacle from the moment Ian Campbell laid eyes on it," said Planning Minister Rob Hulls. "Senator Campbell should just approve this wind farm and stop playing his pathetic, childish political games that are putting renewable energy investment at risk."

Senator Campbell in turn accused Victoria of "breathtaking hypocrisy", claiming that the State Government had "choked off the approvals process for a similar facility just down the road".