Hard working Federal Member for Capricornia, Michelle Landry, recently met with Founder of Squadron Energy, Mr Andrew Forrest, in Canberra to discuss the impacts the Clarke Creek Wind Farm is having on the local community.
Ms Landry said she has met with a number of concerned Clarke Creek locals who are being greatly affected by issues caused by the current construction of Squadron Energy’s Clark Creek Wind Farm project.
“The Clarke Creek community is just one of dozens of communities bearing the brunt of the renewable energy push, with construction deeply impacting their daily lives. Marlborough Road is in an absolute state of disrepair, with the potholes taking up almost an entire lane. Children at the local school told me how their Mum is worried about travelling on the road because of how dangerous it’s become.
“Not only are roads of a concern to the community, but the telecommunication service is also being drained by the enormous influx of workers to the site.
“In 2015, I was able to deliver a new base tower for the Clarke Creek community. This meant the community had access to better telecommunication services and Clarke Creek State School no longer had to wait 20 hours for a single lesson to be downloaded.
“Now, the community is back to square one with the hundreds of people now draining the service as they construct the wind factory.
“These renewable energy companies come in and drain the resources of the communities they’re in without planning ways to ensure the lives of the people living in these areas aren’t disrupted. It’s typical of what we are seeing right across the country and there is no legislation stopping them from coming in and destroying the communities they’re using to make money.
“Recently, Founder of Squadron Energy, Andrew Forrest, was in Canberra and I took the opportunity to meet with him to discuss the concerns of the Clarke Creek locals. While we didn’t agree on the benefits of renewable energy, our discussion surrounding ensuring improvements to the community in the way of fixing the roads and upgrading the telecommunication services is improved.
“I will keep lobbying to Mr Forrest and Squadron Energy to make sure that while they are doing these large scale, industrial projects in small communities, that they must ensure the residents in the region aren’t impacted,” Ms Landry said.
