The Wannon candidates talk about their stance on the proposed off-shore windfarm
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:00When it comes to the proposed offshore wind farm, I'm the candidate who is going for greater
00:12community consultation and a better deal for our area when it comes to the projects, which
00:17we do a lot of heavy lifting here. I'm really disappointed with the flip-flopping when it
00:21comes to those. We saw the Liberal Party with great fanfare announce that they're going to
00:25be making offshore wind zones. They've now flip-flopped and say that they're against it.
00:30Labor seem to be going for it without listening to the voices in the community who are against
00:35it and should be consulted with when making big decisions like this. So I'm pushing forward
00:39for the consultation process over the next couple of years, letting the environmental
00:43surveys being done to make sure that we're not doing anything to harm the environment,
00:47but we do have the opportunity to get cheaper power for people and making sure a better deal
00:52for our area. But I certainly won't be supporting it if those things are failed and the community
00:56are fully against it.
00:58Personally, I know that wind farms, a lot of them use carbon to actually be made and so
01:05it's not actually producing much energy from those wind farms anyway. So personally, as
01:09a person, I don't think they really need it. And they're taking up land as well that's
01:13used for farmlands as well. So probably not the best thing, no.
01:16My stance on the wind farms, the offshore wind farms, in principle, I am supportive of renewable
01:21energy and we need to make a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewables. But we need
01:28to take the community along with us. And so every step of the way, there needs to be community
01:34consultation early and often. And we need to make sure that our community is benefiting
01:40from any infrastructure. So that means, you know, access to tertiary education and to trade
01:46needs. So we can upskill local people, we can create jobs in the area and can contribute
01:52to the local economy. We need to make sure that our marine life won't be adversely affected.
01:58We need to have strong, check the environmental impact and cultural heritage impact of any proposals,
02:04look at the whale and migratory bird patterns and make sure that we're not endangering wildlife
02:10or our local community. I personally don't like offshore wind farms. The cost to build them is
02:20astronomical. The cost of power and energy is going up and up. Where we were promised over
02:34the years that wind farms, we're going to reduce the cost of energy. It's gone the other way. It's gone
02:42up and up and up. The cost of the erection alone, just the base itself is over 100 tonne of reinforcing steel.
02:56It needs coking coal to make steel. I'm against it. The community has been very strong in voicing
03:07its concerns about this offshore, proposed offshore wind farm. I took a petition to the parliament,
03:15which had 7,000 signatures. And that shows the community is, does not support this. The community
03:22feel like they've been railroaded on this offshore wind farm. We also saw from Portland the exactly
03:29the same feeling that they felt like they were being railroaded. And the government in the end
03:34has put it off the coast here of Warrnambool and Port Ferry. It's a bad idea. It doesn't have
03:40community support and it's been put in an environmentally sensitive area where we have wonderful marine
03:47bird life, wonderful whale breeding area. And this is the wrong place for this offshore wind farm.
03:54And if we are elected to government, we will rip it up.
03:59Well, I've spoken about this before and I actually advocate for it. It's labour policy to be putting
04:05in the offshore wind farms. And in truth, if you look at it, it would provide the energy we need,
04:11that self-sufficiency that we need also in this world. And it will power up manufacturing again
04:22and enable it to be providing more jobs for people, more job security, not only just in the energy
04:31sector, but it will mean that we will transition to renewables very quickly. We are transitioning out
04:38of fossil fuels and we are moving into that. And that will enable us to basically light up the
04:43whole of Australia plus industry. And of course, Victoria will also have the advantage of the SCCV.
04:49So that's fantastic. Re-establishing, once again, getting back to the cost of living,
04:54that will reduce our energy bills as well. Oh my goodness. No, that's a complete waste of money.
04:59Don't even think of it. The corrosion for a start on the infrastructure,
05:04metal blades and the cement is impractical. The fact that it produces a direct current,
05:10which can't be assimilated into the existing grid means to me, it's just a waste of money. It's
05:16intermittent. The lifespan of those towers will be very brief. And I must say, once I was standing
05:25at Thunder Point in Warrnambool and I saw out to sea a blue whale traveling with a pod of other whales,
05:31it was the most amazing experience. It was enormous. I've never seen anything so big.
05:37Only a week later, that blue whale was killed because there was oil drilling in the Bass Strait
05:45and it was killed by the seismic blasts. Well, I tell you what, wildlife around the world
05:52needs our protection. And building those towers, we don't know the effect, but from my point of view,
05:59it's a complete waste of money.