BASED on strong sentiment received through community feedback, Moyne Shire Council has adopted a new position on wind farm developments and is calling for a pause on new developments until strategic land use planning in the South West Renewable Energy Zone (SWREZ) is completed.

In June, Council released the draft wind farm position statement for public consultation and ran a random telephone survey of 400 residents whilst also receiving more than 100 written submissions in response.

Moyne Shire Council mayor, Ian Smith, said the response had been one of the largest Council had ever received.

“We thank the community for taking the time to share their views,” he said.

Cr Smith said as a result of the community feedback, a number of issues needed to be addressed in the strategic planning of wind farm developments.

“Those conditions have been drawn from our extensive community consultation on this issue and they address the key concerns that have been raised with us through surveys,” he said.

“The issues include set back from townships, houses and property boundaries, a cap on developments, undergrounding of transmission lines and ensuring food and fibre production is not adversely impacted, and significant long term economic and social benefits provided by companies and the State Government  for local communities and residents, incorporating local decision making.

“Moyne has done a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to wind farms in particular and there are genuine concerns that members of our community have raised that we agree need to be addressed.”

Cr Smith said it was important to remember that Council does not make the decision when it comes to granting a planning permit for a wind farm, with that responsibility falling on the Planning minister.

“We don’t have a seat at the table when these decisions about permits are being made, but we can advocate strongly to government, so they are aware of the issues being raised in our communities,” Cr smith said.

“Our revised position is a reflection on those views and will be the position we take to State and Federal Governments in the course of our advocacy work and help inform any submissions we make to planning permit applications into the future.”