The Labor Government’s decision to put taxpayers’ money into the Delburn wind farm is a slap in the face for the local community which has fought hard against the project from the beginning.
The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien, questioned what purpose the $650 million investment by the SEC would serve.
“If this project stacks up commercially then the private sector will fund it and if it doesn’t then why is Labor risking taxpayers’ money on it?
“The Labor Government’s SEC policy is a massive sham that promised to reduce electricity prices for all Victorians but has abjectly failed.
“Rather than delivering new projects to drive prices down, the government is clearly shopping around taxpayers’ cash to existing projects looking for investors to try and score PR wins.”
Mr O’Brien said Labor needs to explain to the local community around Yinnar, Boolarra and Delburn why it is backing the project against their wishes.
“The local community has waged a campaign against this project, raising genuine concerns about the fire risk of hosting turbines in a pine plantation, as well as noise and visual impact.
“The Labor Government has thumbed its nose at this community so it can be seen to be more green in the city.”