UPDATE - Aussie senator wants wind project ban until health effects are known

John Madigan, independent senator for Victoria state, wants a moratorium on wind farm development until the Australian government gets results from two studies of the effects of wind farms on human health.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) this week announced it is awarding AUD 3.3 million (USD 2.5m/EUR 2.2m) in funding to the University of New South Wales and Flinders University of South Australia, which will investigate whether wind turbines affect the health of people living near them.

“In the meantime, the precautionary principle requires that all future wind farm development should be put on hold, pending the outcome of the study,” Senator Madigan said on Wednesday.

Two years ago the NHMRC said there was no reliable or consistent evidence that wind farms are directly responsible for adverse effects on human health. At the time, CEO Warwick Anderson pointed out that the existing evidence has poor quality so further research efforts of the highest standard are needed.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!