Wind farm commissioner to blow away community concerns: leaked letter

The government has promised a National Wind Farm Commissioner and another scientific committee to investigate the health impacts of wind farms, a leaked draft letter reveals.

Airtricity's first Scottish Wind farm, now fully operational.

Source: Press Association

The Abbott Government is seeking to appoint a National Wind Farm Commissioner to hear complaints about noise, a leaked draft letter from Environment Minister Greg Hunt said.

The letter was published on the Guardian Australia website, where reporter Lenore Taylor wrote Australia would have a scientific committee looking into the effects of wind turbines.

A comprehensive review into wind farms and potential health impacts by the nation’s peak medical research body, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), was finished in February.

The NHMRC’s meta review of 4000 reports, studies, anecdotes and other literature found no credible scientific evidence in support of the perceived health effects of wind turbines.

However, the review said there was no evidence to disprove the health effects and more research was needed.
The government already has a Senate inquiry looking into the application of regulatory governance and economic impact of wind turbines, with a report due to be published on August 3.

Five out of six Senators appointed to the inquiry are on record with negative comments about wind farms, apart from Tasmanian Labor Senator Anne Urquhart, who said the committee had so far heard no expert evidence.

Last week, Prime Minister Tony Abbott admitted on radio he wanted to reduce the numbers of wind turbines in Australia, which he said were "visually awful".

Perpetuating myths about the impacts of windfarms is pseudo-science and is actually harmful, Greens Senator Larissa Waters said.
Social media users have reacted to the news, with some using the hashtag #allthecommissioners to mock the announcement. 



 


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By Jason Thomas

Source: SBS


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