On this day 11 years ago the then Environment Minister Ian Campbell rejected  the $220m 52-turbine  ‘Bald Hills’ Victorian wind farm which passed all planning hurdles.  James Prest, in an excellent edited volume called ‘Climate Law in Australia’ takes up the story.

Senator Campbell held a media conference in his home town of Perth to publicly announce the refusal of the Bald Hills wind farm. This was an unusual step in decision-making under the EPBC Act. The maximum publicity most EPBC decisions receive is a silent announcement on the departmental website. Campbell said:
I’ve announced this morning that I have decided not to approve the Bald Hills wind farm in Victoria. I have done so on the basis that the report commissioned by my department has said that the Orange-bellied Parrot, which is threatened and is in a very precarious situation as a species, can’t really stand any further potential impacts. The wind farm proposed could have such an impact and hasten the extinction of that species.
(Prest, 2007: 232)

This was complete tosh, and the decision was later overturned. Campbell did not last much longer in his job…  All part of the unrelenting hostility to renewables, eh?

See also: Hogan, J. 2006. Fury over wind farm decision. The Age, 5 April.

and http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1610250.htm

Also on this day – 

2005  COAL21’s first conference

2011 Greenhouse 2011 in Cairns, with a speech by Greg Combet

2011 exp-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd defending himself on climate change policy on ABC TV’s Monday night “Q&A”. See Bob Carr on this– Carr argues Rudd could have used GGAS model after Turnbull was overthrown and the CPRS therefore stuffed…