Mayoral Memo - 14 February 2024
Just to make it really clear, I am playing hypotheticals today. In March 2023 in Mayoral Memo 60, I dissed the colour orange to make a point in relation to the DA decision-making process.
Well today I am going to take aim at the colour yellow, in a hypothetical way.
In my hypothetical situation, I own some farmland that has been in my family for several generations. Farmers in my district have a long history of growing wheat and grazing sheep, and we are all comfortable with that.
But today I have a problem. My affliction with the colour yellow has raised its head because one of the farmers adjacent to me has made the unthinkable decision not to plant wheat this season but instead, canola. This really makes my blood boil. My neighbour knows that I find yellow to be a terrible colour yet he is inflicting rolling paddocks of yellow on me.
What can I do?
It is not my land and canola is legal. My neighbour has decided the most productive use of his land is to grow canola and, even though I will be sick to my stomach every time I look across the fence, it is land owned by someone else. Worse still, canola prices are very strong now so my neighbour will make more money than me!
On the bright side, when I go in to the local supermarket, I like to buy Crisco Canola Oil. Surely Crisco will offer me cheaper prices because the canola is grown right beside my property?
This, of course, is hypothetical in relation to canola but replace the word canola with renewable power, and you have a common situation.
Some farmers have decided that the best use of their farmland is to use some of it to produce off-farm secure income in the form of wind or solar power generation. Just like I hypothetically don’t like the colour yellow, some farmers don’t like the look of these renewable projects. No problems – they are entitled to their opinion. But just like a farmer could choose to grow canola even if a neighbour doesn’t like yellow, a farmer can choose to generate power on his land even if a neighbour doesn’t like the look of the infrastructure.
I also see commentary where some people want power bills for those living nearby to be specifically discounted. I am not sure why this is even considered a legitimate request. A local sheep abattoir does not sell meat cheaper to locals and a local flour mill does not sell cheaper flour to residents next door so I am not sure why nearby residents expect cheaper power.
It is a new world with a new economy and many of us are adjusting slowly. I guess I might need to just learn to like yellow!
Councillor Mathew Dickerson
Mayor of Dubbo Regional Council
Last Edited: 13 Feb 2024