THE wind turbines dotting the horizon at Macarthur in the state’s south west wouldn’t have escaped the attention of Tony Abbott on Saturday.
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Nor should they.
When I arrived to work at the newspaper in Mortlake for two years from 2012, the Baillieu government had just put in legislation all but killing off four of the five wind farm projects that surrounded the town.
A once booming Soldiers’ Settlement town, Mortlake’s decline had been rapid in recent decades – aside from a handful of very successful beef farmers.
The vast majority of the population saw the wind farms as a saviour, providing much needed capital to those on the land and diversifying the local economy.
Instead, ideology stalled the projects and uncertainty scared off companies wanting to invest.
To be a true champion of the land, Tony Abbott should do all he can to help new industries blossom in our small towns.
