Complicit Deception from the NSW Department of Planning

February 16, 2012

Alby Schultz MP, Federal Member for Hume has reinforced his serious concerns in Parliament this week regarding the way in which stakeholders and the New South Wales State Government undertake their business in regards to wind farm development across the Hume electorate and the state more broadly.

"The modus operandi of the great clean energy wind turbine fraud and its closest supporters in government is one of intimidation and contempt through their unauthorised exposure of confidential submissions on wind turbine development" Alby said today.

"At a meeting on the 19th December last year with individuals from the Flyers Creek Wind Turbine Awareness Group and the Director-General of Planning and Infrastructure in New South Wales, various discussions took place in relation to confidential documents some of which were critical to the draft policy guidelines that were yet to be released by the NSW Government" Alby said.

"Both myself and my constituents were given a platinum-plated guarantee by the Director General of the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure, Mr Haddad, that all of the submissions would be treated confidentially" Alby said.

"However in early January of this year, the submissions were exposed on the website of the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure which not only detailed the submissions but contained the identity of the people that had submitted them" Alby said.

"The implications of such deceit and false assurances from NSW Department of Planning representatives have been massive, destroying people’s credibility and in some cases commercial interests by subjecting them not only to public scrutiny but legal action from the wind turbine industry" Alby said.

"These people have been held in utter contempt by the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure in their requests for confidentiality and I demand the Minister take disciplinary action against department representatives who gave their contrived assurances of confidentiality" Alby said.

"This is a classic example of the way in which the state government and some environmental groups have continually subjected my constituents among others to blatant deception and intimidation and I simply will not stand for it" Alby concluded.

[ends.]