ALP policy to fix Victoria’s wind farm laws good for farmers and small businesses but could go further

The Australian Wind Alliance today welcomed the ALP’s commitment to fix parts of the Victorian wind farm planning laws that have held back critical regional development but called for changes to go further.

“These changes will go a long way towards putting Victoria back into the business of building wind farms,” said Andrew Bray, National Coordinator of the Australian Wind Alliance.

“The government’s anti-wind farm laws shut down the pipeline for new wind projects in Victoria and deprived regional communities of much-needed economic opportunities.

“Farmers and local businesses can now breathe a sigh of relief that new investment might be just around the corner.

“The last four years have been a disaster for wind energy in Victoria and the 2km veto was the main culprit.

“The 2km veto was an extreme provision with no precedent anywhere else in the world so a return to evidence-based planning policy would be welcome.

"Returning planning control to the State Government makes sense.

“Farmers and local communities want expert assessment and monitoring of wind farms and the avoidance of costly and unnecessary battles.

"It is critical however that the Planning Department is responsive to reasonable concerns from regional communities where they arise.

“We would like to see Labor’s policy go further to include the removal of unnecessary no-go zones, such as around the McHarg Ranges in Central Victoria.

“The failure to repeal wind farm no-go zones, especially in places like the McHarg Ranges locks up valuable wind resources in locations with negligible natural significance.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES: 0434 769 463 Andrew Bray