August 4, 2012
Australia, Opinions

Coopers Gap Wind Farm, Cooranga North

Ray Hopper, parliament.qld.gov.au

Record of Proceedings, Queensland Parliament, Thursday, 2 August 2012 – Private Members’ Statements —

Mr HOPPER (Condamine—LNP) (3.11 pm): I would like to talk about the proposed Coopers Gap Wind Farm at Cooranga North. AGL paid Investec, a bank in Melbourne, $14 million for this project. I was there the night that the bank first put up the proposal. They hired the hall at Cooranga North and put up photos of wind turbines on top of the hill. They then sold the project and made a lot of money. I do not see that the people of this district are opposed to this wind farm, the fact is they want it done properly. That is the feeling I am getting from those who I have met. We need to take a serious look at what is about to happen.

In other states there is a two-kilometre policy in place. We need the Minister for Health and the Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection to have a look at this. Both ministers have people in their department who are very well learned on this proposal I am talking about. AGL has other wind farms. These wind farms have been built and problems have occurred. There is a farmer who lives 1.6 kilometres from a smaller turbine farm and the result is that the turbines have had to be shut down because they are above the noise compliance in that state. This is something we really have to look at. This has to be done right. Oaklands Hill has had nine turbines shut down every night due to noise. I would hate to see this go ahead and then be shut down. We need to get this right. That is the picture I am trying to paint here today. We need to seriously look at a two-kilometre policy being put in place. It would line up with Victoria. Victoria has a two-kilometre policy. New South Wales has a draft two- kilometre policy. The Liberal Party in South Australia will put that policy in place if they win government. We need to have a very serious look at this project.

I know a fair bit about this area. My children were the fourth generation to go to the Cooranga North school. I lived in that district all my life. There were times when I had to put pump jacks on my windmills for a period of three or four weeks because there was simply no wind. We have to have a serious look at this project. The people of that community are not against the project, they just want it done well. We as a government have to make sure that it works. Thank you.


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