Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I do not support this motion. I quote from Mike Smithson who is Channel 7's political reporter who is also heard on FIVEaa, who had a very interesting article in the Sunday Mail Adelaide. I am sure the member for Makin would be aware of that commentator and certainly that newspaper and probably the article headed, 'Ill wind may hurt farmers'. He writes:

There’s a growing speculation that some of the benefits of wind power generation are a load of hot air. the State Government’s own hand-picked expert, who’s canvassed opinion throughout regional communities, has dished up plenty of food for thought about future wind approvals.

He goes on to quote the former South Australian National Party MP, Peter Blacker, who was the member for Flinders from 1973 to 1993, who told a parliamentary committee recently of:

… the growing downsides, especially in prime agricultural areas. His dark-cloud observations came as the Government prepares to approve a 199-turbine facility on the Yorke Peninsula, worth about $1.3 billion.

I know the member for Hume—if he were available—would be speaking against this particular motion. He has stridently advocated against wind turbines as he knows the downsides, particularly in his electorate. I see that the member for Hughes is following on from that tradition of putting the facts into this space. I quote from the member for Hume from his 19 March 2012 speech when he said:

It is a shame that I will not have more time to expose the great fraud on the Australian people that is the wind turbine industry. Communities in proximity to wind turbine complexes are experiencing health and noise impacts that interfere with their lives. They did not experience these issues before the turbines came online.

Mr Alby Shultz is correct. There are adverse effects from having wind turbines near you. There are dizzying effects, nausea, and all these sorts of complaints he has had to experience firsthand because his constituents have been complaining loudly and often to him.

He railed against the wind turbines in another speech on 12 February this year when he said:

Wind turbines should not be classed as renewable energy as the industry is unsure of whether they are actually reducing greenhouse gas emissions or not. Studies of performance based data suggest that wind turbines do not reduce emissions. Wind turbines are industrial power generators that require baseload power to operate and are inefficient, intermittent, damaging to the environment and very expensive to the electrical consumer in Australia.

Alby Shultz is correct.

Wind-turbine farms will not create an abundance of local clean, green jobs in Australia. They are not a clean, green source of energy. Wind farms require backup fossil-fuel powered generators which negate any reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Wind farms take up large tracts of land which should otherwise and could otherwise be used as prime agricultural land to grow food. We have so often heard this government talking about feeding the Asian century and feeding the global food task, but are ever yet to produce public policy that does that. They have—as we heard from Mr Schultz time and again—negative health effects on humans: wind turbine syndrome, infrasound which causes headaches and dizziness, deep nervous fatigue, symptoms akin to seasickness as well as irritability, depression, concentration and sleep problems.

Nobody would want one of these huge things next to them but, unfortunately, if you listen to all the nonsense and rhetoric coming from the other side you would think that these are the great panacea for all our energy problems and certainly for our clean energy problems. I know in my electorate we have irrigators using diesel power to pump their water systems, because they cannot afford to pay for electricity. But this is not going to solve the problem.

We heard the member for Hughes and we know that tomorrow there is going to be a loud protest on the front steps of this parliament talking about the wind power fraud and how Australia cannot afford it. Australia cannot afford the clean energy bills. We certainly cannot afford the carbon tax and we certainly cannot afford to spend the billions upon billions of dollars going down this wind power fraud. It is a fraud, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I do thank you for letting me speak on this motion. (Time expired)

Debate adjourned.

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