Action speaks louder than words
Shetland News, www.shetnews.co.uk 1 September 2011
In a landmark decision reported in Tuesday’s The Age, Melbourne’s quality newspaper, the front page main news story detailed new proposed planning laws on wind turbines.
Households will have the right to veto turbines within two kilometres of their hames.
Turbines will also be banned in the Macedon and McHarg Ranges, in the Yarra Valley, on the Mornington and Bellarine peninsulas, and within five kilometres of the Great Ocean Road and the Bass Coast.
It also prohibits turbines within five kilometres of 21 regional centres.
A group called Landscape Guardians can take credit for the new laws. Its president Randall Bell described the announcement as “a starting point”.
Planning minister Matthew Guy said the changes restored certainty and fairness to local communities.
The state of Victoria has effectively banned wind turbines from coastal iconic tourist routes and all urban growth zones.
The minister said: “The two kilometre buffer for households was chosen after studying planning schemes in New Zealand and Britain.”
Citizens all over Australia are prepared to take direct action to protect their local, state or national natural environment.
Action has been taken in the Kimberley in Western Australia against an inappropriately sited gas plant; farmers in New South Wales and Queensland have refused access to multinational miners who want to exploit coal seam gas, which in turn contaminates the fresh water artisan basins; Tasmanians have succeeded in locking out the bulldozer and chainsaw to all their remaining old growth rainforests; and the severely delayed paper pulp mill proposed for the Tamer Valley is having trouble getting finance.
All this was achieved by folk putting their bodies on the line.
The just fight to protect Weisdale and da Lang Kames fae da bulldozer, mechanical jackhammer, explosives, quarryies, 100 kilometres of roads and the behemoth wind factory called Viking Energy is also a fight against the greed o Scottish and Southern Energy, Viking Energy and the banks who finance them.
It has to be fought. “If you don’t fight, you lose,” history tells wis.
Also: “Action speaks louder than words.”
Davie Thomason
Belmont
Victoria
Australia
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/09/01/action-speaks-louder-than-words/