Gallery of Voices.

The wind-factory proposals lie in a region of outstanding ecological value, and on the fringes of a conservation park, Te Papanui, the wild heart of Central Otago. Gallery of Voices presents images taken by Jon West and Richard Reeve in the early winter of 2006, coupled with the assertions of different players in this present struggle. While not every image depicts the sites themselves, the landscape’s integrity will certainly be threatened by the initiatives, even in areas where the turbines are not visually apparent. The aesthetic appeal of the Lammerlaw-Lammermoor Uplands is about geological and ecological continuity rather than artificially segregated zones.

We have included a few commentaries from other countries affected by wind factories, but with your help, their story will never be our story.

Note:

Photos submitted by Annette Joel are tussock-clearing sites, described in the ODT by TrustPower Community Relations Manager Graeme Purches as one metre-square test bores. TrustPower repeatedly denied that there had been any major disturbance of the land until the Parliamentary Commissioner investigated the now notorious, 999-year, non-notified consent given to the corporation by the council to drown thirty hectares of wetland. The displaced tussock in these images was neglected for three months until the DCC chief executive, Jim Harland, began to ask questions about the company's actions. In total, it was discovered they had created 60 of these bore sites. On this basis, we have no faith whatsoever in the assurances being given by TrustPower that the ecological integrity of the area will be maintained.