Dairy farmers call on government to address planning concerns

Garvoc dairy farmers Joseph and Anna Conheady are part of a community group, Sustainable Garvoc, which formed after they learnt of a wind farm planning application that would create a land buffer imposing on their property, and 12 other neighbouring farms.

Sustainable Garvoc hosted a meeting on September 4 to discuss their concerns with residents about potential effects on essential worker housing and supply chain security.

Australian-owned company ReFuture submitted a planning application to the state government, proposing six wind turbines across two host properties in Garvoc, which is part of both Moyne and Corangamite councils.

ReFuture director Severin Staalesen said the site was chosen for its wind resourcefulness, intensive farming location away from rural living and key infrastructure, "good setbacks" and its electricity grid connection.

"[The setbacks] mean... impacts in terms of shadow flicker and noise are going to be well below the allowable limits," he said.

Mr Staalesen said the consultation process included an information pamphlet for residents within five kilometres, door-to-door visits within 3km, and any resident requesting a visit.

"To date, we've had over 60 face-to-face meetings with people in the local area, and this includes some people who we've already visited three times," he said.

"We also included a number of information sheets about wind energy in general and answers to about 20 frequently asked questions.

"We'll send out another information package about the wind farm in the coming months, and in the meantime we'll continue to make ourselves available to anyone who wants to ask us questions about the project."

He said the project included a community benefit scheme, which included annual payments to nearby property owners, one-off subsidies for energy efficiency, and an annual community fund of about $30,000.

Mr Conheady said they employed five permanent full-time workers from the region, and during their calving season would have eight full-time employees.

He said he would spend between $2-$3 million annually in the local area to maintain his farm, including local employment of about $450,000.

"The average output generated from a south-west Victorian dairy farm to the local economy is $4.5 million annually," he said.

"Any proposed community benefit scheme will pale in comparison to the benefits that any single farm business brings to this community.

"We're a medium-sized [farm] but us alone are providing 60,000 people a glass of milk everyday.

"We need to make sure that no farming businesses are implicated by this encroaching industry."

He said they had engaged a local builder and planned for worker housing on farm for the past 18 months, and submitted a permit application to Moyne Shire Council.

But ReFuture confirmed it had made a submission to the council about the Conheadys' permit application for essential worker housing on their property.

Mr Staalesen said they had no objection to neighbours building accommodation on their properties, but the proposed plans were "as close as possible" to the wind farm boundary.

"Mr Conheady's property is quite large and there are many other locations on his farm that could serve equally well for the proposed accommodation," he said.

But Mr Conheady said they had chosen the particular site for housing because it supported farming zone policies, had roadside access, avoided adverse effects to their farm production and minimised potential land conflicts.

Moyne Shire Council environment, economy and place director Jodie McNamara said the council was concerned about the wind farm company's conduct.

"Council has been critical of the conduct of the proponent who lodged their application with the State Government Department of Transport and Planning, without any prior consultation with the Garvoc community or with Council," she said.

"State Government policy around buffers means there is now additional planning permit triggers impacting on neighbouring landowners when it comes to the use and development of their land for dwellings, rural worker housing and other accommodation uses.

"Moyne Shire Council has a position that all new wind farm developments should be paused until a number of conditions are met - this includes strategic land use planning, which includes balancing the value of agricultural land as well as mandated levels of community benefits."

Corangamite Shire Council planning and building services manager Aaron Moyne said the council's priority was to manage the impact of new renewable energy on "high-quality productive agricultural land".

"Council has committed to review the planning application in detail once it has been finalised and made available through public notice, and will work with Moyne Shire to raise any issues in a shared way with submissions which are aligned," he said.

Both councils said they would follow regular processes when public consultation opened.

Mr Staalesen said some residents raised "serious concerns" about compatibility between wind energy and dairy farming, but they believed it was compatible.

"Wind farms are located in dairy farming regions all over the world, including in Europe and North America, and dairy farming has continued around them without a problem," he said.

"Moreover, there are two wind farms currently operating in this very region, namely the Timboon West Wind Farm and Ferguson Wind Farm, and neither has had any impact on the dairy farms that surround them."

He said they had met with Mr Conheady and were committed to finding a compromise.

A Victorian government spokesperson said permit applications for wind farms needed consideration of all issues, including impacts on agriculture, which were recognised in the Planning Policy Framework.

"Wind farms have a limited footprint on agricultural land and operations, which is why both can co-exist when planned properly," the spokesperson said.

Mrs Conheady said the framework included specific protections for prime agricultural land, and believed they should be activated for high-output areas including south-west Victoria's dairy region.

"We need to activate these available protections to ensure food security and achieve our climate goals," she said.

Mr Conheady said they were part of a "very natural system" with high-quality dirt in a high-rainfall zone.

"Not only are we importing record amounts of dairy to Australia, but it would take more diesel, fertiliser, chemicals and labour to grow the same litre of milk elsewhere in Australia," he said.

"This is something we grow in Garvoc, process 30 minutes down the road and drink in Melbourne."

Garvoc resident Jodie Dawes said she had received a letter from ReFuture, but she felt concerned for the region's farmers.

"We never need water, we've always got enough rain, we're in the best region so why put something in that's going to ruin that?," she said.

"They need to install them in areas that will benefit from them being there, and this isn't one of them, Garvoc isn't that place that's going to benefit from having them there."

Mr Conheady said he hoped the state government would consider identifying appropriate land zones in "more amenable areas".

"There are huge variations in land in Victoria," he said.

"Why don't we bite the bullet and do this once, and do it properly, and draw strategic land zones on where is and where is not amenable to renewable infrastructure?

"We can source renewable energy for great swathes of the continent, but what we can't source is highly carbon and cost-efficient milk.

"What we have is an amazingly productive industry and skill base in this tiny but key region.

"We're saying that it is something worth protecting."