Australian Landscape Guardians

{{#badges:Front groups}} The (Australian) Landscape Guardians (ALG) were set up specifically to oppose wind farms. They are purely an astroturf group, supported and/or indirectly funded by mining interests, the fossil fuel lobby and (primarily) Conservative politicians.

Over the years they have justified their opposition to wind farms using various excuses such as loss of visual amenity, dangers to wildlife, property values and lately, alleged health issues.

As each claim is addressed and shown to be unsound or as is more often the case, grossly exaggerated, they find another reason to oppose wind farms and proposed projects.

The ALG adopt the anti-wind propaganda and actions promoted by the UK-based British Coastal Guardians and Country Guardians, pro-nuclear, climate change denialist groups. Like its UK brethren, the ALG have spawned a number of regional groups throughout Australia and are associated with the Waubra Foundation.

The ALG have links with the Liberal Party of Australia, the Australian Environment Foundation (AEF - which despite its name is not pro-environment) and the right-wing think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) which in turn obtains funding from corporations, miners and the tobacco industry.

Despite claiming to represent a majority of rural communities, the website of the ALG appears not to have been updated since around 2007, strange considering their dire concern about windfarm projects around Australia. The website appears to be more windowdressing than substance, designed to confer some limited credibility rather than actually inform.

The ALG claim to be seriously concerned about how wind farms developments affect the landscape but their own website exposes the lie. Simply compare the comments on their About page:

“Our philosophy is simple:

'Our landscape is a non-renewable resource - we cannot create more of it. It is the background or setting to our lives, and helps to define and identify us as Australians. The Australian landscape is a resource which we hold in trust for future generations. As its present custodians we have a responsibility to conserve and manage it wisely, protecting it from inappropriate development, so that it will enrich the lives of our children and successive generations'.

By 'landscape' we mean, 'that which is seen between the horizon and us, even if the horizon is imagined'.

By 'inappropriate development' we mean, 'any change by the act, omission or neglect by individuals, corporations and organisations, which threatens the values of landscape to others in the community'."

In comparison, their Resources page provides details about the alleged effects of wind farms on wildlife, health and economics but omits anything about development of desalination plants, nuclear power plants, opencut coal mining, river diversions, coal seam gas developments, pollution of aquifers, city/suburban expansion, dams, salinity, mining, drought, forestry, the loss of productive farming land, inappropriate housing developments along the coast, coastal erosion or any other process deemed detrimental to the landscape. Only windfarms are mentioned.

Back in May 2006, the Sydney Morning Herald noted that similar groups "using the Landscape Guardians moniker" are "based in the village of Taralga. Its members are challenging a local wind farm project in the Land and Environment Court. Their president, Paul Miskelly, worked for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation for 32 years and has given talks on nuclear power." [1]