“This is a very simple issue. We have a new industry operating infrastructure that some people say is making them sick. There is insufficient research of the type needed to determine the validity of these claims. … [T]he precautionary principle requires that all future wind farm development should be put on hold, pending the outcome of the study.”
“At the end of the day these people don’t care if wind farms make people sick. They just want them built due to their obsession with climate change. How else to explain the deeply shameful attacks by Greens politicians and other activists on the people who say they are getting sick. Throughout the inquiry I chaired these people were relentlessly mocked, labelled ‘flat earthers’ and alien abductees, by the Greens, their activist supporters and sections of the media.”
– John Madigan, Senator for Victoria (Independent), Parliament of Australia, March 2016.
Ever vigilant and courageous Senator John Madigan, Independent, Victoria (Australia), has made the sensible recommendation to support the Australian Government’s National Heath and Medical Research Council to complete its study to find out what is causing people to fall ill near wind farms. [1]
Who can object to that?
In the meanwhile, a moratorium is a logical and clear precaution. This is the same Senator who in December 2015, cautioned that developers were faking compliance reports. Senator Madigan accused wind companies of using less than independent consultants to assess post-construction noise compliance. (One of the recommendations of the Senate Select Committee on Wind Turbines was for independent noise monitoring–read more here.)
Another of the recommendations of the Select Committee was:
“provide scientific and technical advice to the relevant State Health, Environment and Planning Minister to assess whether a proposed or xvi existing wind farm or industrial project poses risks to individual and community health; • provide advice to the Clean Energy Regulator on whether a proposed or existing wind farm project poses health risks to nearby residents….”
MEDIA RELEASE Senator John Madison AU
Call for moratorium on future wind farm developments March 23, 2016
Independent Senator for Victoria John Madigan has welcomed the announcement of a study into the effects of wind farms on human health, while calling for a moratorium on all future windfarm developments pending its outcome.
This NHMRC’s announcement is in line with its 2014 recommendations, made following a review of the literature, which found that while it was clear that some people who live in close proximity to wind farms complain that the turbines make them sick, to date there has not been research of the kind needed to properly test these claims.
Senator Madigan said: “This is a very simple issue. We have a new industry operating infrastructure that some people say is making them sick. There is insufficient research of the type needed to determine the validity of these claims. Therefore, the NHRMC has commissioned a study that will do this. In the circumstances, it is the only sensible course of action.
“In the meantime, the precautionary principle requires that all future wind farm development should be put on hold, pending the outcome of the study.
“Criticism of the cost of the study is so misconceived it is difficult to take seriously. Are critics seriously suggesting the government should not spend the $3.3 million necessary to fund a sophisticated epidemiological study that will resolve an issue concerning a threat to national health and conversely, the future of a billion dollar industry that is the beneficiary of hundreds of millions of dollars in government issued subsidies?
“I was initially surprised by the hostile reaction of activist groups and sections of the media to this announcement. These people dispute the claims of those living under wind turbines that this makes them sick. That’s fine: It’s these claims the proposed study is designed to test. Why on earth would they oppose settling the issue through rigorous scientific research? Presumably they expect to be vindicated. Why would they so vehemently oppose this?
“The uncomfortable truth is that many of these activists are passionate about their cause to the point of zealotry. Like all zealots, their excessive passion to advance their cause at any cost has seen them lose perspective when it comes to a broader moral compass. At the end of the day these people don’t care if wind farms make people sick. They just want them built due to their obsession with climate change.
“How else to explain the deeply shameful attacks by Greens politicians and other activists on the people who say they are getting sick. Throughout the inquiry I chaired these people were relentlessly mocked, labelled ‘flat earthers’ and alien abductees, by the Greens, their activist supporters and sections of the media. They justified this on the basis their symptoms were all in their minds, rather than having a genuine physical basis. Yet, even if it turns out to be a psychological issue that made these people sick, how on earth does this justify attacking them.”
[1] In “Wind Farms and Human Health,” the NHMRC describes its purpose as follows:
“NHMRC is responsible for ensuring that Australians receive the best available, evidence-based advice on matters relating to improving health and preventing disease. The NHMRC Strategic Plan 2013-15 includes particular focus on investigating new and emerging health issues, particularly through environmental hazards and changes in the human environment.
Wind farms have been promoted as an alternative to traditional, non-renewable forms of energy production. However, concern about the effects on health from living near a wind farm has been expressed by some members of the community. NHMRC has undertaken an investigation into the evidence on wind farms and human health, due to the ongoing reports of possible health effects and uncertainty around this emerging form of energy production.”