And just where are the Greens on this? [I]t seems OK to destroy koalas and other endangered species' habitats if it is with wind farms. It’s not just Australia’s native flora and fauna that is being butchered, it will also add a nail in the coffin to tourism and local tourism businesses.
"It's not about NIMBYism, you know, it's not about 'put it somewhere but not here,'" he said. "It's about the marine environment. Here, we share the whale populations moving up and down the coast of Australia with lots of small coastal communities like this one. "I think we could do much better, and if the [federal government] listens to communities like this one, we'll come up with a good plan."
The abject poverty of the region means that local governments give wind farms the green light with few conditions, they assert. .As well as paying local farmers interviewed by The Wall Street Journal as much as $500 a month to erect turbines on their lands, the companies also employed many local men during construction of the sites.
“The South Australian Government is committed to renewable energy projects that can improve our state’s energy security, but we cannot support ones that have the potential to cause significant harm to local industries and the environment. This is particularly the case when they have no net benefit to South Australians,” said Susan Close, the state’s environment minister in her submission to the ongoing consultation process.
Considered Renewables Portland representative Ashlee Ludeman said the community group was not opposed to wind farms, but maintained the proposed zone was not the right place for development. "At any time of year, there's always one of these endangered species going through the coastline where they want to place these offshore wind turbines," she said. "If it displaces them, the whales could abandon that habitat altogether."