I propose to take Questions Nos. 476 to 480, inclusive, together.
My Department is currently conducting a review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines focused specifically on noise and shadow flicker. As part of this process, my Department wrote to the Department of Health in September 2013 inviting any input that they might have on the health aspects, if any, of wind farms.
Preliminary feedback was received from a Deputy Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the Department of Health on 11th November 2013, which indicated that wind turbines do not represent a threat to public health. This feedback was based on a 2009 literature review conducted by the Australian Government’s National Health and Medical Research Council.
The Deputy CMO subsequently wrote to my Department on 11 April 2014 to advise that Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council have recently updated their evidence in relation to this matter. In that letter, the Deputy CMO states ‘This review again supports previous advice that there is no reliable or consistent evidence that wind farms directly cause adverse health effects in humans.’ The Deputy CMO also refers to the limited number of peer reviewed articles and research in this area and that Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council may recommend further high quality research. My Department will continue to liaise with the Department of Health, particularly in relation to the findings of any further international peer reviewed research on this subject. The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has also been made aware of this ongoing dialogue in the context of the implementation of their renewable energy policy (including wind energy).
My Department published draft revisions to the Wind Energy Development Guidelines on 11th December 2013 and commenced a period of public consultation. A stringent absolute outdoor noise limit (day and night) for future wind energy developments has been proposed in these draft revisions to Guidelines. This takes into account the 2009 World Health Organisation’s findings in relation to night time noise, when people are generally sleeping, and the recent review of international practice on wind noise undertaken by Marshall Day Acoustics.
Submissions were received from 7,500 groups and individuals during the public consultation period, which are currently being considered by my Department. Following consideration of these submissions, my Department intends to consult further with the Department of Health prior to finalising the revised Wind Energy Development Guidelines.
