The following letter, coauthored by BEAM-Mitchell Environment Group vice president Peter Lockyer and Yes 2 Renewables‘ Leigh Ewbank, is featured in the Seymour Telegraph:

Anti-wind farm campaigners congratulate Mitchell Shire Councillors for blocking the Cherry Tree Range wind farm proposal, but will they accept responsibility for dragging the municipality into costly legal proceedings? After all, it was their scare campaign that shocked council into denying a permit for a wind farm that meets stringent planning regulations. The ongoing VCAT hearing is wasting ratepayer money, which would be better spent on improving local services and infrastructure.

Rather than buy into a fear-campaign against wind energy, the council would have been better served by following the advice of shire planners who recommended approving the wind farm. The project was also supported by the Mitchell Shire Environment Advisory Committee, BEAM-Mitchell Environment Group, and Friends of the Earth.