Wednesday 3 January 2007

It's an ill wind

Herald Sun
Saturday 23/12/2006 Page: 78
Editorial

ENVIRONMENT Minister Ian Campbell should be an endangered species after the Bald Hills wind farm debacle. The minister says the $250 million project that he rejected in April can now go ahead because of changes made to protect the scarce orange-bellied parrot.

Senator Campbell must think the Australian public are fools. His parrot-explained reversal was accompanied by more spin than 52 Bald Hills turbines in a hurricane.

More persuasive, we would suggest, was the threat of legal action by Wind Power. The company is still considering suing the Howard Government for the $30 million extra that the project will cost. Senator Campbell's own department told him the risk posed by turbines to the parrots was that one bird would die every 1000 years.

Orange-bellied parrots may now rest easier, but not taxpayers who could end up footing a multi-millon dollar bill for Senator Campbell's wind change.

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