June 2, 2011
Australia

Alby dumps on wind debate

Yass Tribune, www.yasstribune.com.au 31 May 2011

The Federal Member for Hume, Alby Schultz, has put both the state and federal governments on notice that he will not tolerate wind turbine developers taking away the property rights of his constituents.

“I have two major issues with the push towards greater wind turbine development, particularly in the electorate of Hume,” Mr Schultz said in a speech to the House of Representatives on Thursday night.

“Firstly, claims that wind turbines are efficient and reliable and, secondly, the impact inadequately regulated wind turbine construction in New South Wales is having on the property rights of landholders, not to mention the predatory and clandestine practices of wind turbine developers.”

The local MP went on to say that wind turbine developers have been able to override the property rights of individual landholders and communities, due to inadequate regulation under the former New South Wales Labor government.

Mr Schultz quoted a letter from a constituent who wrote:

“If I went to the Minister for Transport and offered to sell him a fleet of buses or trains, telling him that they would work only 30 per cent of the time, he couldn’t use them in peak periods because we didn’t know when they would work and also he may find that they work when he didn’t want them to (late at night or early in the morning)—what do you think the Minister for Transport would say?”

The Member for Hume went on to say that the transition to inefficient, unreliable and expensive wind turbine energy production is occurring throughout the shires of the Hume electorate at an alarming rate—a rate that is preventing landholders and communities from taking stock of the full implications these industrial wind turbine developments will have on their families, their neighbours and their communities.

He also put the new NSW government – who have the power to place an immediate moratorium on all wind turbine development in NSW – on notice.

“This indifferent treatment of the democratic rights of my constituents may be politically convenient for a new government but it will not be tolerated by me.

Mr Schultz has written to Premier O’Farrell requesting an immediate moratorium on any further wind turbine development in New South Wales pending a possible public inquiry or indeed, following on from preliminary investigation, a possible royal commission into the industry as a whole.

Click here for the full speech to parliament.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/06/02/alby-dumps-on-wind-debate/