Council formally expresses disappointment with Garvoc Wind Farm applic

Published on 23 May 2023

Mayor Cr Karen Foster will write to State Ministers expressing Moyne Shire Council’s disappointment with the lack of consultation around the proposed Garvoc Wind Farm.

At Tuesday’s Council meeting, Deputy Mayor Cr Daniel Meade moved a Notice of Motion that Council express its disappointment in relation to the lack of communication and engagement of ratepayers, community and Moyne Shire Council by the windfarm proponent RE Futures for the Garvoc Windfarm for the planning application recently lodged with the Department of Transport and Planning.

It also called for the Mayor to express it’s disappointment in writing to relevant State Ministers Sonya Kilkenny and Lily D’Ambrosio. as well as RE Futures. It also asks to seek meetings with the Ministers.

Cr Meade’s motion was supported with a unanimous vote.

Cr Foster said the actions of the company in lodging their application before any consultation with the broader community were incredibly disappointing.

“It’s standard for a company to engage with the Council and the community ahead of lodging the application, that didn’t happen in this situation,” she said.

“It’s disappointing and goes to the point we have been making about social license for wind farms being non-existent. Actions like this don’t help the situation.”

Cr Meade said it was important to let the Minsters know about council and the community’s disappointment with how this application has played out.

“The Minister has all the decision-making power when it comes to renewable energy developments, so we need to ensure they know how disappointed we and the community are with how this has played out,” he said.

“As we’ve said, wind farm companies need to start building their social license and their trust within the community. Lodging an application before any consultation with impacted neighbours does the opposite and erodes trust.”