With the public diverted, the federal Minister for the Environment, Murray Watt, approved a highly contentious Tasmanian Highlands Wind farm on Christmas Eve.

His approval was announced yesterday, but not via a media release. It was picked up by the Central Highlands No Turbine Action Group. Watt, the group’s ministerial representative, did not have the courtesy or the courage to let the group know.

There are many endangered Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagles nesting and foraging on St Patricks Plains.
Besides authorising the smashing down of hectares of their habitat, the highland native forest, this wind farm will emulate the nearest other project, the much vaunted ‘state-of-the-art’ Cattle Hill wind farm.

That’s 467 birds, including 370 natives, and 40 threatened with extinction. For obvious reasons, the real total is many more. Ordinary citizens face penalties of up to seven years in jail for killing protected species, under Murray Watt’s environment protection laws. But he has exempted Korea Zinc insofar as this project wreaks its havoc.

That’s Cattle Hill. Now for the Albanese and Watt-approved St Patricks Plains

Bob Brown