The Express Newspaper 2nd December 2015

Page 1

EXPRESS The

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Locally owned and proudly independent

$1,500 Christmas Vouchers Giveaway!

Wind farm gets federal approval

A little more Grease

By Justin Fris

Sold out show puts on charity night The Mareeba Theatre Group’s production of “Grease” has been sold out for months, but locals now have one more chance to see the show live. The production premiered last Saturday night, with director Ida Portella deciding to stage an extra show on Tuesday, December 8, for those who missed out on tickets. The evening is a charity event, with money raised going towards the Mareeba Animal Refuge and the Mareeba Golf Club – two not-for-profit organisations of tremendous value to our town, who are struggling financially. Bookings are now open and tickets can be purchased at Travel Experience.com in Mareeba.

STAGE 3 COMING SOON!

SHOP NOW & ENTER TO WIN!  SEE PAGE 13

THE Mt Emerald Wind Farm officially received federal approval last Thursday afternoon in Canberra from Federal Environment Minister, Greg Hunt. After receiving approval from the state government only a few months earlier, the project has finally leapt over its final major political hurdle. For Port Bajool director John Morris, his team and RATCH Australia, the approval is welcomed – and now gives them a ‘fairly clear road’ in commencing the project. “We are looking forward to moving along with the project,” Mr Morris said. “After almost 8000 hours of study and research, we’ve now reached a point where the authorities are happy with the project.” Mr Morris added that project organisers were happy to continue working with all members of the community in regard to the Mt Emerald Wind Farm – regardless of whether they are for or against the project. “We will address the problems noted in the recent ‘Infrastructure Australia Northern Australia’ audit report, that electricity availability and higher costs in Northern Australia remain a major issue to both residents and business,” Mr Morris said. “Our Community Benefit Fund will

also invest $200,000 per year to fund projects or initiatives that will benefit the local community once the wind farm commences operation.” RATCH project developer Terry Johannesen said he believed the Tablelands economy would benefit greatly from the decision. “Our assessment shows that 100 to 150 million dollars will be spent domestically, with the majority of this investment to be spent locally,” Mr Johannesen said. “Expenditure during operations is expected to be between $13 million to $17 million dollars per year. “Employment during the construction phase can be expected to peak above 150 - while 15 permanent jobs will be created to operate the wind farm - including operations and maintenance, environmental and land management staff and administration.” Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch said he was optimistic about the project’s future – and was happy for the developers that the decision had been reached. “It will also create 155 jobs during the construction phase, 11 jobs during the operational phase and an additional 145 jobs to be created indirectly during the construction phase,” he said. CONTINUED PAGE 3

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