December 22, 2021
Australia, Opinions

Respect on Xmas wishlist for Stanley

Posted on December 22, 2021. Written on behalf of the Stanley community by the lobby group Respect Stanley Peninsula – No Wind Turbines Inc. tasmaniantimes.com

Image courtesy David Murphy

We’ve taken out gold in Tassie’s Top Small Tourist Town, and bronze for the nation. Our local pub and accommodation offerings have won awards for best regional venues in the state, and we love welcoming cityweary travellers.

We’ve opened new cafes, shops and restaurants and our beef and seafood providers are producing some of the finest produce in the state.

We’ve learned about renewable energy zones, 200 per cent targets, the statewide planning scheme, EPA provisions and renewable energy infrastructure projects.

We’ve met with ministers, advisers, councillors, commissioners, CEOs, lawyers and experts.

We’ve organised town hall meetings and brought in expert speakers. We’ve lodged recommendations to the Liberal government on ‘no-go’ zones, mandatory social license and best practice community consultation; we’ve written letters and submissions.

We’ve kept our community informed through Facebook, newsletters and updates. Our community has donated funds to the cause.

We’ve warned other Tasmanian communities about the risks they face from unregulated and largely unlegislated wind farm developers. We figure Tasmania needs to know what’s coming.

We’ve highlighted the need for legislated ‘no-go’ zones, mandatory social license and genuine community consultation.

We’ve learned how truly special Stanley is and we’ve told our politicians exactly how special.

We know that our landscape on the Stanley Peninsula is unique and internationally significant.

The exposed volcanic plug of the sea-level Stanley Nut and the aptly named ‘Plum Pudding’ rock (a three-dimensional submarine lava ‘mega pillow’) are the only ones in the nation; truly a geologist’s delight.

Our designated historic township is stunning and Highfield Historic Site is a nationally significant touch point for the story of the clash between civilisations.

When Bass and Flinders first saw The Nut in 1798, Flinders observed it as a ‘cliffy round lump resembling a Christmas cake’.

We would like legislation introducing ‘no-go’ zones, mandatory social license and genuine community engagement.

We’d like community to have confidence that developers will act appropriately and uphold the Best Practice Charter of the Clean Energy Council.

We’d like developers to respect places of high cultural, biodiversity and landscape value and to engage with community in a transparent and respectful way. If it’s not too much to ask, we’d also like Epuron to recognise they have chosen the wrong place for their project and to walk away.