Do we need wind farms to save the world or not? Not, says Bob Brown.
Robbins Island, North West Tasmania
People can have sleep and health and their views destroyed, but that didn’t matter til a farmer on a remote island off Tasmania made a deal to build one of the largest wind “farms” in the world.
Graham Lloyd, The Australian
Former Greens leader and veteran activist Bob Brown is campaigning to stop a $1.6 billion wind farm development in Tasmania because it will spoil the view and kill birds.
The proposed Robbins Island wind farm in Tasmania’s northwest will be one of the world’s biggest, with up to 200 towers measuring 270m high from ground to blade tip.
He’s written a letter protesting about the view:
Despite the criticisms levelled at former prime minister Tony Abbott and treasurer Joe Hockey for describing wind turbines as “ugly”, Dr Brown said the Robbins Island plan was, visually, a step too far. “Mariners will see this hairbrush of tall towers from 50km out to sea and elevated landlubbers will see it, like it or not, from greater distances on land,” Dr Brown said. “Its eye-catchiness will divert from every coastal scene on the western Bass Strait coastline.”
So Tony Abbott was right. It will be good to hear that apology.
After millions of birds bats and who-knows-what-else has been killed, now he cares:
In his letter on the wind farm, Dr Brown wrote: “Besides the impact on the coastal scenery, wind turbines kill birds. Wedge-tailed eagle and white-bellied sea eagles nest and hunt on the island. Swift parrots and orange-bellied parrots traverse the island on their migrations.”
The birds are just a “beside”.
Reap what you sow — a belief based on superstition with no underlying principles means sooner or later Greens reveal their inner hypocrite.
The ABC reported on this project in Dec 2017. The industrial wind plant was only going ahead if they could also build a second interconnector across the Bass Strait, something the company said it would pay for if it got approval. For some strange reason the Tasmanian Government was spending $20m investigating the business case first…
Why are taxpayers worried about a business case if the company was the one risking the money?
The Hammond family farm high quality Wagyu beef.
Robbins Island farmer John Hammond sees the wind farm as a way to keep the Island in the family.
For his sake, we hope cows do better than people do when assailed by infrasound from giant machines. John Hammonds kids may inherit a farm where no animal thrives. Some “farm”.
The ABC also report that the same company, UPC Renewables, raised the ire of Tasmanians two weeks ago regarding a 170km proposed transmission line. The company said they’d consulted and most people were “on board”. But people were not and just three days later the boss changed his tune saying he “misread the people”.
The ABC have not mentioned Bob Brown yet.