Aust angry at wind farm on battlefield

FRANCE: France has been criticised over an ‘‘outrageous’’ plan to build a six-turbine wind farm on a World War I battlefield where thousands of British and Australian soldiers were killed.

The proposal by French energy firm Engie Green to develop the turbines near the small farming village of Bullecourt has prompted a barrage of criticism in Australia and led to calls for the federal government to voice its objections directly to Emmanuel Macron, the French president.

During two battles in April and May 1917 at the village in northeast France, Australia lost more than 10,000 troops as it tried – unsuccessfully – to break the Hindenburg Line, a shortened front to which Germany had withdrawn.

It marks one of the most significant sites in Australian military history.

Of the tens of thousands of British, Australian and German soldiers who died there, it is believed the remains of 3000 to 4000 were never recovered.

Dan Tehan, Australia’s veterans’ affairs minister, said he would contact his French counterpart to discuss the wind farm, and Brendan Nelson, the director of the Australian War Memorial, urged France to reconsider.

‘‘I would like to think a sane and sensible government, in this case on the French side, would reflect on the fact that the very important contemporary bilateral relationship not in any way be jeopardised,’’ Nelson said.

The wind farm site would be situated about 600 metres from a memorial to the dead. According to Engie Green, the location of the site was chosen to ensure ‘‘the impact to landscape and the memorial were minimal’’.

However, one local farmer said: ‘‘At the first stroke of the spade, they’ll come across bodies, that’s for sure.’’

Campbell Newman, a former state Queensland premier whose great-uncle was killed at Bullecourt, said the proposed wind farm was ‘‘an outrage gone too far’’.

He said human remains were still being found on farmland in the area when he attended the centenary commemorations of the battle in April.

Maxime Louage, Engie Green project leader, said: ‘‘We had lots of feedback linked to the memorial. So we moved the project to the south by several hundred metres. When you enter the site, you won’t see the wind farms contrary to what was initially planned.’’

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