SOME of the south-west’s most vehement wind farm opponents will front a rally in Canberra this month urging the government to abandon cash incentives for turbines.
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The protest — apparently organised by anti-wind campaigners across the country but championed by an anonymous, professionally-run blog called Stop These Things — will call on both sides of politics to dump renewable energy certificates worth up $350,000 per turbine in cases where wind farms break noise requirements.
Some residents near the Macarthur and Waubra wind farms, both in the federal seat of Wannon, say they are suffering from health effects caused by inaudible infrasound generated by turbines.
Southern Landscape Guardians president Keith Staff said about 30 residents from Cape Bridgewater, Penshurst, Macarthur and Glenthompson would travel to Parliament House for the rally on June 18.
“We want the renewable energy certificates withdrawn if it’s proven that the wind farm hasn’t been compliant,” Mr Staff said.
“People in Macarthur have had independent acoustic testing done and it shows that they are not complying with the noise.”
AGL Australia has consistently denied the wind farm has breached compliance.
Sydney radio presenter Alan Jones, independent senator Nick Xenophon, Democratic Labor Party senator John Madigan, Liberal MPs Alby Schultz and Craig Kelly as well as Liberal senator Chris Back are understood to be headlining the rally.
Although Stop These Things has Wannon MP Dan Tehan listed among its supporters, Mr Tehan was unable to say if he would be fronting the rally.
Mr Tehan said he would be seconding a private members’ bill put forward by energy spokesman Ian McFarlane calling for a definitive and independent study into the health effects of wind farms.
There are close to 800 wind turbines listed in projects at different stages across the Moyne Shire alone — most of them between Warrnambool and Hamilton.
