Mr Birch defends energy projects

Press, 1 June 1984, Page 4

Mr Birch defends energy projects

PA Wellington The Minister of Energy, Mr Birch, has said that energy projects such as the Ohinewai open cast mine could have traumatic effects on farming communities. However, Mr Birch also defended the schemes and said that there were stringent procedures laid down for selecting development sites. The Government consulted rural property owners who would be affected and tried to lessen the impact on farmers by helping rehabilitate them on new land. In an address to the Land Drainage and River Board Association’s annual confer-

ence in Wellington, Mr Birch said the expansion of the New Zealand steel mill, the development of the Motunui petrol plant, and the oil and gas fields in Taranaki had had a substantial impact on the environment. “The siting of a major energy project in a rural area can be a traumatic event for the local community, in spite of the jobs and amount of foreign exchange it may earn,” he said. “To be faced with the loss of a farm or part of a farm for the site or to accommodate the infrastructure can be a jolt for a new or established farmer.” Railway lines, transmission lines, roads, waste

treatment, and disposal systems often had to be built as part of the projects on rural land and could often disrupt farm operations. However, Mr Birch told the delegates that a balance could be struck between competing land uses. Legislation had evolved to keep that balance. “However, for those who feel that such projects should be avoided I would draw your attention to the substantial use made by the modem forms of energy,” he said. Diesel was the “lifeblood” of a modern farming community, natural gas and coal were essential to process meat and dairy products, and electricity provided fuel for a home and shed facilities. Petrol, C.N.G. and L.P.G. were essential transport fuels for a rural community. Replying to Mr Birch’s address, the association’s vice-president, Mr Brooke Des Forges, said the frustration felt by individual farmers affected in energy project sites must be remembered. “I think you have got to take into account the feelings of the farmer’s wife and family because in most cases they have children going to school. How will this affect their families if they have to move?” he said. “It is very upsetting.” Mr Des Forges said the uncertainty of not knowing if land would be needed made it worse. Added to that, farmers worried that they might have only one buyer for their land. “If it was the farmer’s choic&<jo sell he could have sevenb buyers,” he said.