Gippsland wind farm proposal

Your feature in the latest paper relating to this proposal should cause considerable concern to the residents of south and east Gippsland. 

We are fortunate to live in one of the most picturesque parts of mainland Australia and already, the visual nightmares of the Toora and Bald Hills wind farms is bad enough.

The prospect of hundreds more of these monsters erected in the Bass Strait, at various parts of the coastline between the New South Wales border and Phillip Island, should scare the readers of this newspaper.

The fact they may be at least 5.5km from the mainland and extend even further southwards into the Bass Strait will be of little comfort to the hundreds of thousands of migratory birds, some travelling as far north as Siberia to nest.

Then there are the migratory sea birds that spend almost their entire lives drifting with prevailing wind currents between Australia and Antarctica. 

Those that head north are attracted South Gippsland due to the mudflats and coastal swamps. 

They know no other pattern or lifestyle.  

One only has to visit the bird hide on the mudflats at Toora overlooking Corner Inlet, to appreciate the importance of this area to these birds.

What about the highly endangered and rare Orange Bellied Parrot that migrates across the Bass Strait as a part of its breeding cycle?

Each year that counts are done, their numbers seem to have diminished. 

If this insanity goes ahead, the only indication of their extinction will be when none arrive.

It says something when the “godfather of greenies” Dr Bob Brown, is against wind farms in coastal areas of Tasmania, due to potential destruction of birdlife.

A question: how could you measure bird kill by wind farms erected in the oceans? 

Any bird having the misfortune to strike one of the blades or a tower and fall into the sea would be eaten by other marine life. Being out to sea would prevent any form of monitoring or if it was attempted, would be a token gesture.

I invite readers to use their computer search engines and check “Bird kill on wind farms”, to gain an appreciation of the destruction in the USA and other parts of the world.

Everyone gets excited about the prospect of “extra jobs for Gippsland” with this project: how many permanent or long-term jobs were created after the closure of Hazelwood?

I note the “environmental grounds” including destruction of wildlife habitat and rare species, has been used by other Governments to prevent new coal mines being opened: perhaps these grounds may also be used to prevent this insanity going any further. 

Or am I just being a cynic?

Adrian Fyfe, Sandy Point