On November 6, this year the Environment Court declined the application by Meridian Energy to build a 630MW wind farm in Central Otago's Lammermoor Range.
While the decision has serious implications for Meridian's - and New Zealand's - objectives in respect of sourcing electricity from renewable resources, the outcome is probably more serious for a less visible interested party: the local community whose continued existence now hangs in the balance.
The decision to terminate Project Hayes is undoubtedly a serious setback for Meridian and other energy companies seeking to develop renewable energy generation.
But for those of us who struggle to maintain a viable presence in this region; who want to see our dwindling communities restored to growth and health, and future generations continue to work this land, it is a devastating blow.
For the local district, Project Hayes offered so much.
But now, the potential employment, social and economic opportunities that would have gone with the development are lost, and the negative impact will be felt in our struggling communities in so many ways.
The fledgling school of Paerau which currently educates a total of four pupils has lost an opportunity to increase the school roll, threatening its continued existence.
Next year, the roll will stand at two.
Young people looking for jobs in the area were pinning their hopes on Project Hayes going ahead.
They are all now resigned to the idea of having to leave our communities to look for work elsewhere.
Community and volunteer groups struggling for members necessary to support their continued service such as St John also suffer, as do volunteer fire services and sports clubs.
The local garage struggles to find enough customers to make a go of it.
Cellphone and internet services remain substandard.
In 1861, Cobb & Co delivered mail to this area three days a week; now, almost 150 years later, we still get mail only three days a week.
Why should the Environment Court have the power to keep our community in a 19th-century time zone?
How is it possible for the court to have the power to leave a community like ours this legacy of uncertainty; to govern our destiny and constrain our future generations?
This decision completely disregards the social and cultural values of this project.
As freehold farmers we believe we have the right to decide how to use our land in order to get the best from it in a sustainable, non-destructive way.
This decision means we no longer have that right; nor indeed does any farmer.
What implications does that have for farmers up and down the country?
Where would farming in New Zealand be without the improvements which have taken place in that industry over many years?
Indeed, where would the New Zealand economy be without farming, and the improvements that farmers have continuously made?
There are people who have said they want to keep this land in its natural state.
This land has been farmed for more than 100 years.
On Lammermoor Station alone there are already over 80km of tracks, many kilometres of fencing; there is oversowing, and there are huge power pylons on the hills.
There is irrigation from the Loganburn Reservoir on the back of the Lammermoors - not a natural lake, but a man-made one that contributes a huge financial gain for the Maniototo farming community and the wider region.
The judge and panel who are responsible for this decision had never set foot on the Lammermoors until the hearing and they will probably never do so again.
Those who oppose Project Hayes do so from afar.
They do not live in this community; they are not concerned whether it lives or dies.
Most of them would not have been able to pinpoint the Lammermoors on a map before Project Hayes was announced.
Even the few locals who opposed the project have almost all left the area.
Having denied us this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ensure the survival of our communities, will these people now contribute the resources we need to keep them going?
We are not holding our breath.
It is left to those of us who remain here to continue the struggle for survival.
Generations of us have worked on this land through good times and bad, and we know its potential to contribute to the nation.
Meat and wool has been a mainstay of the farms in this area for many years, but it can be a precarious existence.
Fluctuations on world commodity markets can cut farm income by 50% overnight.
Why can this productivity not be enhanced by clean, renewable energy using the abundant local wind resource?
This range could showcase a sustainable balance of farm production, renewable energy and healthy, vibrant, flourishing communities for all New Zealand.
The landowners, farmers and station managers who live in this area are the inheritors of the pioneer farming spirit, but we need more than just this spirit to ensure our continued presence here into the future.
Project Hayes offered us and our communities a lifeline.
The Environment Court decision has regrettably prolonged what already has been an interminable delay.
- John and Susan Elliot are the owners of Lammermoor station.
