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All Black hooker Anton Oliver faced a media scrum in Alexandra yesterday, continuing his campaign against Meridian Energy's proposed Project Hayes wind farm and its "negative legacy" - and taking public scrutiny in his stride.
Reporters turned out to listen to the rugby heavyweight present a 75-minute, 21-page submission against the proposal, in front of a public gallery that was packed for the first time in 16 days of the hearing.
Oliver and poet laureate Brian Turner are among a high-profile group openly opposing the 176-turbine farm proposed for the Lammermoor Range, 15km west of Middlemarch.
Oliver claimed Meridian's evidence was "deliberately deceptive" and amounted to a "fear campaign".
He said Project Hayes was about profit versus carbon credits, and European findings were that wind farms had no significant effect in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. He disputed Meridian's claim that the relevance and importance of an area depended on how many people lived in or visited it, and said Central Otago may not be suitable for wind farms at all.
Turner tabled a submission on behalf of artist Grahame Sydney, famous for his stark Central Otago landscapes. Sydney, who lives in Spain, urged New Zealanders to be careful not to repeat the mistakes of uncontrolled development that had scarred much of Europe.
- Otago Daily Times
