The Senate Community Affairs Committee delivered its final report on 23 June 2011 on the outcome of the inquiry, which covered:

  • Concerns over vibrations emitted by wind farms in close proximity to homes
  • The impact of rural wind farms on property values, employment opportunities and farm income
  • The interface between Commonwealth, state and local planning laws as they pertain to wind farms.

The inquiry, originally referred to the Senate committee by Family First Senator Steve Fielding, was due to report on 30 April 2011 but had received approval to extend the reporting date.

Clean Energy Council Policy Director Russell Marsh said that the report had raised some important issues for the Australian wind industry to consider.

“While we acknowledge that any change will have its critics, the vast majority of submissions to the inquiry were positive about wind farms in rural communities,” Mr Marsh said.

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“Several findings within the report recognised the contribution of wind energy to jobs in regional areas, as well as its contribution to the incomes of farmers – [the report] reflects opinion polls that consistently show approximately 80 per cent of Australians support wind energy.”

Mr Marsh said that the inquiry had found nothing to suggest that wind farms directly cause health problems, and added that the industry welcomed the recommendation to conduct Federal Government-run studies into noise and health problems. Mr Marsh voiced the Council’s support for a continuing review into the science of wind turbines and health by the National Health and Medical Research Council.