Stanley’s Signs of Dissent

Just so that we’re clear – Stanley locals are not the backwards-looking ‘greenies dressed up as locals’ or even the ‘dark forces’ some politicians would have you believe.

The Stanley community supports renewable energy. But we want it in the right place. Try and put it in the wrong place and the community will speak up – loudly.

But is the state government listening? Are the developers listening?

In June this year some 100 concerned Stanley locals gathered in front of The Nut to protest Sydney-based Epuron’s proposed Stanley wind farm. On that winter’s day, I – a local business owner – held aloft a sign declaring the message of the assembled group: Respect Stanley Peninsula – No wind turbines!

Later that month in a protest by farmers, fishermen and locals, these signs had multiplied and now adorned tractors and boats lining the main street. The point was to send a very clear message to the developer and to government.

Locals are concerned that if Epuron gets its way, tall turbines will be erected on Stanley’s doorstep, vandalising the landscape and the iconic views of the Stanley Peninsula. Tourism operators and locals alike fear for the future of our iconic town if developers are allowed to plunder what is so special about Stanley.

Since June, locals have kept the local signwriter busy, clamouring to get their own signs. Now there nearly 40 signs displayed all around the town. Signs in yards, on fences, in windows, in homes, on utes and in businesses throughout Stanley and its surrounds.

The signs send a very clear message: Stanley does not want this wind farm here.

Locals hired a bus and turned out in force with their signs at the Tasmanian Clean Energy Conference in Devonport.

While other states are broadening protections for communities and iconic landscapes, Tasmania sadly lags behind – remaining wide open to the desecration of our landscapes and special places with energy infrastructure.

Where are the ‘no-go zones’ for Tasmania, the much-touted ‘Battery of the Nation’?

Local farmers Saskia and Herman Umbgrove have taken the signs even further, displaying a large billboard on the Bass Highway. In an ironic twist, this large billboard was originally erected to promote the Liberal Party, but Saskia and Herman are disillusioned.

“The Liberal Party offers us no protection from these developers. We are already 100% renewable in Tasmania, why do we need these windfarms on our doorstep?” they asked.

Locals have told Epuron in so many ways that their wind farm is not welcome in this historic tourist town. Locals have met with politicians, held a town hall meeting, lodged concerns with Epuron, protested, erected signs and billboards, been in the paper, on radio and on television – and will keep going until the message gets through.

So far Epuron is not listening. Epuron’s Donna Bolton glibly said to ABC Radio’s Leon Compton: “It’s not a popularity contest, it’s a planning application.”

On the matter of protections, for ‘no-go zones’ – so far it has been radio silence.

The Stanley community continues to ask: At what point does a developer accept the obvious lack of community consent and withdraw? At what point do our elected representatives listen to the Tasmanian community they represent? At what point do they provide real protections for our iconic places, for our historic villages, for our tourist towns and for our loved towns?

Until then, these determined locals will continue to fight for the town they love, digging into their pockets to engage experts to fight the planning application, their signs clearly showing which way the wind blows in Stanley.

Kerry Houston is a passionate Stanley business owner, working with community to respect the unique history, landscape, biodiversity  and amenity of the Stanley peninsula to stop inappropriate development.

You can find Respect Stanley Peninsula on Facebook and Twitter.