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GEELONG SOLDIERS ON THE FRONTLINE IN AFGHANISTAN THE DANGER, THE FEAR, THE COURAGE - SPECIAL REPORT ON PAGE 3
$2b project revealed
Boundary ‘blunder’ hikes tow truck costs
Cable in plans to tap King turbines
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OUT OF BOUNDS: Drysdale tow truck operator Neil Yeomans says recent boundary changes are costing him and accident victims thousands of dollars. Picture: TOMMY RITCHIE 91215
NEW “ludicrous” boundaries for tow-truck operators will cost a Drysdale business $20,000 a year, according to its owner. Drysdale Smash Repairs owner Neil Yeomans said VicRoads’ recently-gazetted boundary went “right through the middle of Drysdale” at Princess St and Clifton Springs Rd, blocking his access to jobs in the town’s east. The State Government approved the changes without consulting Mr Yeomans, who owns one of the two tow truck licences on the peninsula, he said. Car accident victims were now forced to use an allocation system and have their cars towed to Geelong at far higher costs than before, Mr Yeomans said. “The recent accident with the BluesTrain was actually one of my workers. He got towed to Belmont and was hit with a fine of something like $700 to pay for the driver to come from Geelong to Drysdale and back again.” The newly-enforced boundaries were the same as set by a now-defunct authority set in the 1990s before Clifton Springs’ population boomed, Mr Yeomans said. “In 2007 it was all taken over by VicRoads and those rules were never legislated. I’ve been towing outside the boundary for two years because they were not law.” Ocean Grove Collision Repairs owner Eric Jakubzic said he had been hit with two bills over $500, twice what Mr Yeoman would charge, when forced to use a Geelong towing company. “I’ve been billed for a tow truck to come from Geelong 20km away but we’ve got tow trucks parked one and 10 kilometres from here,” Mr Jakubzic said. Member for Bellarine Lisa Neville used Parliament recently to urge Roads Minister Terry Mulder to review the boundaries. Mr Mulder was unavailable for comment before the Independent went to press.
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A $2 BILLION, 200-turbine Bass Strait wind farm could power Geelong within the next six years, according to a city MP. Member for Corio Richard Marles said Hydro Tasmania’s 600-megawatt King Island proposal was “aimed specifically at Geelong”. The facility would be the largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere. Hydro boss Roy Adair said the company was considering undersea cable landfall sites in the vicinity of Geelong. The turbines would generate enough electricity for up to 240,000 houses - more than three times to dwellings in greater Geelong. The concept-stage TasWind farm would use Roaring Forties wind to produce 2400 gigawatt hours of renewable energy. The output would be more than five per cent of Australia’s existing renewable energy target. Hydro Tasmania plans to move into full feasibility study mode by
April, with investigations to be completed in 2015. Construction could begin in 2017 if approvals and designs go to plan, with full operation underway in 2019. Hydro spokesperson Samantha Mewey said the company “intended” to connect the project to the power system in the Geelong area. “However, it’s early days and the location of the shore crossing and cable route is yet to be decided. The connection cable would be installed underground,” Ms Mewey said. “The project would involve the construction of what is called a converter station in the Geelong area to convert direct current power to alternating current prior to connection to the existing power system. The converter station would be constructed adjacent to an existing power transmission line.’ Mr Marles said Geelong’s industries meant the city would have a “very energy-intensive” future. “Finding sources of renewable energy is a key part of Geelong’s future and a proposal like this represents a very exciting opportunity,” he said.
1048053-KG38-12
By NOEL MURPHY
By MICHELLE HERBISON