IN a remarkable piece of misrepresentation, a “state government spokeswoman” has claimed that our organisation is blaming the federal government’s renewable energy target (RET) for the lack of wind energy projects in Victoria (The Standard, August 15).
The facts of the matter are quite different. While the RET scheme is not driving wind investment at the scale that is required, it is Ted Baillieu’s government that has shut much of the state off to wind development.
Since the state government’s restrictive wind guidelines were introduced, a number of projects have been blocked or abandoned.
Even more significantly, only one new project has been lodged since the government came to power.
Since August 2011 our research shows that this ill-considered policy has cost Victoria up to $887 million in lost or stalled investment, 650 direct jobs lost or stalled in construction, 54 on-going jobs in management of wind farms, and 1408 indirectly associated jobs.
Most of these jobs would have been created in regional Victoria. This loss of employment and opportunity is overwhelmingly the result of actions by the government of Ted Baillieu.
It is a shame that they have attempted to shunt off the blame to a federal scheme.
Cam Walker, campaigns co-ordinator, Friends of the Earth, Parker Street, Castlemaine.
