DEAR News Of The Area,

WHERE were you on Friday, 28 February 2025… the day the music almost died in Port Stephens and the Myall Coast.

On that afternoon, Federal Minister Chris Bowen and his sidekick Meryl Swanson washed their hands of this entire area by ceasing to listen, abandoning all niceties and imposing their offshore wind farm folly – then attempting to destroy all escape routes.

The announcement of a wind farm feasibility licence is widely and rightly perceived as a kick in the guts – a betrayal rushed through by a government seen by many as running scared of its electorate.

But, it was done in a particularly brutal way, bearing the ruthless hallmarks of scorched earth politics.

“Scorched earth” refers to the tactic of destroying everything in an area, leaving behind nothing that counts.

To a big proportion of the Port Stephens and Myall Coast population, that sums up the announcement by Bowen and Meryl Swanson.

Ironically, the announcement may have sounded the death knell for Meryl Swanson’s political career, but that’s apparently a sacrifice Labor is prepared to make.

Throwing Swanson under a bus is apparently a price worth paying for this wind farm fantasy.

Why would anyone be surprised at this scorched earth behaviour?

This was never an honorable enterprise.

The entire wind farm saga has been obscene, profane and vulgar, but this was the lowest blow yet.

Bowen and Swanson believe they’ve conquered without really needing to come and see.

But, the descent into gutter politics has served only to again highlight the importance of the looming federal election. The battle for Port Stephens is far from done, and only the Coalition has promised, and is in a position to, actually rip up wind farm contracts and legally rescind the zone.

Lets vote to prevent our precious ocean from becoming some sort of Mad Max nightmare almost devoid of marine life.

Regards,
Ian ROBERTS,
Fingal Bay.