DEAR News Of The Area,
IT’S somewhat laughable that Robina Badger (Letter to the Editor, 19 February) felt “stunned” by community uproar about an offshore power station (wind farm).
There was no political mandate: I’ve lived for 36 years in this coastal strip without hearing one serious election candidate grandly promising to take power generation into our ocean.
At the Port Stephens Council election, Labor did not, to my knowledge, publicly support any such zone.
Labor’s mayoral candidate had signs declaring her opposition.
Port Stephens Labor MP, Kate Washington, to my knowledge, is yet to call for this proposal and Paterson Labor member, Meryl Swanson, only publicly touched on it here in the very final days of the last election campaign.
Secondly, it’s incorrect that the proposal was preliminary.
The feasibility licence offer was, in fact, an operational go-ahead, subject only to some box-ticking.
As for the community opposition being well funded, I won’t waste time on conspiracy theories: all I will say is… “Oh please.”
On the subject of aggression, I personally know of instances where locals opposing this wind-zone-on-floaties were threatened in attempted intimidation.
The difference is that they don’t play the continual victim.
Regards,
Ian ROBERTS,
Fingal Bay.
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