Newsletter: Bad info, good Quigley

Gippsland farmer responds to false claims.

Author

Jacob Wallace
March 27, 2026

⏱️ This Friday edition of our newsletter is a six-minute read.

👋 Hello Gippslanders, it’s Jacob here.

After a long week at work, I usually try to make it out to one of the region’s many picturesque beaches while the sunny weather is still around.

📸 Here’s a photo I snapped of my dog Quigley at Kilcunda beach last weekend.

👀 Looking ahead. In this edition of our newsletter we’re talking about:

  • 👨‍🌾 How mis and disinformation are generating fear and anxiety in Gippsland communities;

  • ⛽️ How fuel prices are impacting your weekly budget, and;

  • 🎤 The National Account’s chat with Punter’s Politics.

🎊 WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

🧺 FARMERS MARKETS 🥧

🚀 Alright, let’s jump into the Monitor’s latest yarns!

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

The years have rolled by - 25 of them, in fact - but Gippsland farmer Lindsay Marriott hasn’t forgotten the insults and the accusations.

At a community meeting in 2001, Marriott was told his decision to allow 12 wind turbines on his Bald Hills property would mean that “before dawn every day, [I would have to] go around and hoover up all the dead birds”.

The matter caused serious rifts in parts of the community. Marriott says friends and family were also targeted. 

Aside from the bird graveyard, the farmer was told the turbines would lower the district’s property values and negatively impact his farm’s productivity. 

None of it was true.

In November last year, Marriott told a Senate inquiry into misinformation and disinformation around climate change and energy that ibis, swans and ducks have been living on his property and navigating the turbines for more than a decade. 

  • Plans for the turbines were approved in 2004, but construction didn't start until 2012.

What happened: A parliamentary inquiry - backed by Labor, the Liberals, the Greens and Independent senator David Pocock, found that there are coordinated misinformation campaigns actively working to mislead Australians. Their aim is to delay action to reduce climate pollution, erode trust and inflame community conflict.

The inquiry’s report identified “climate obstruction” as a systemic problem that is shaping public debate and policy outcomes.

Marriott told the Monitor the opposition to his wind turbines came from a “driven, small group of people”, but locals now considered it “overwhelmingly a benign thing”.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

This week my colleague Archie Milligan from the National Account interviewed Konrad Benjamin from Punter’s Politics.

Archie talked to Konrad about a range of topics, including how Konrad got into making political content, the state of Australia’s media and how vested interests are impacting politics.

Take a look at the full interview below.

🎥 Watch: How are fuel prices impacting your day-to-day?

I hit the streets of Warragul to ask residents a range of questions. One of the topics I was curious to hear from locals about was how fuel prices are impacting their weekly budget.

Take a look at what Warragul locals had to say below.

🙌 Thanks for catching up with us at the Monitor. I hope you enjoyed this Friday issue of our newsletter.

📧 If you have something you’d like to share with us, whether it’s a story in your local community that you think is being underreported, an intriguing fact about Gippsland’s history or a picture of your dog at the beach, you can email us at [email protected].

I’ll be back in your inbox next week with more yarns, chats with locals and possibly more pictures of Quigley spreading joy around the region.

Cheers,
Jacob & the Gippsland Monitor team

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