The Australian Greens Party has queried a number of aspects relating to one of Australia’s most prominent anti-wind farm lobbies.
The Waubra Foundation is named after the small northwestern Victorian town of Waubra, which is home to one of the South Hemisphere’s largest wind farms with more than 120 wind turbines and about 500 residents.
Waubra Foundation chief executive officer Dr Sarah Laurie travels around the country, highlighting the alleged health problems wind turbines cause.
ABC News reports however, the National Health and Medical Research Council has said there is insufficient scientific evidence to link wind turbines with health problems.
At the same time the Australian Greens say there is no credible scientific or medical body that supports the existence of so-called wind turbine syndrome.
Yet, as ABC News reports, the Waubra Foundation collects donations as a health promotion charity and can accept tax-deductible donations.
Australian Greens Senator Richard di Natale says that situation “beggars belief.”
“We are, as a community, making a huge public contribution to the Waubra Foundation,” he said.
“The organisation being granted status as a health charity means that they are the beneficiary of enormous public subsidies.
“Those public subsidies are being used to spread misinformation about wind energy and its health impacts.”
ABC News reports Senator di Natale has made a complaint to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commissioner (ACNC), calling for an urgent review.
The complaint also alleges the foundation may have been using its donations to do more than just health prevention.
“Such activities may include anti-wind development litigation and circulation of general anti-wind energy materials unrelated to health,” the complaint states.
He also wants an immediate investigation into the organisation’s links to the oil, gas and uranium industries.
“There are close links between some of the directors of the Waubra Foundation and fossil fuel interests, oil and gas companies,” Senator di Natale said.
“There is of course a legitimate concern that the actions of the Waubra Foundation are jeopardising a competitor to the fossil fuel industry; that what they’re doing is frustrating the development of new wind energy proposals right around the country.”
The foundation’s creator, Peter Mitchell, was a director of several oil and gas companies.
He was the subject of a stinging attack in Federal Parliament last year over his successful removal of turbines from a wind farm proposal in Victoria.
The turbines would have been visible from one of his properties.
The foundation declined to address the specifics of the complaint as it was yet to see a copy.
ABC News reports Ms Laurie said in a statement that she would be guided by the wishes of those whose interests they represent.
“If the Greens were less intent on shooting the messenger and more intent on supporting the research that Greens Senator Rachel Siewert recommended as a priority two years ago, significant progress would have been made,” she said.
“If the damage to health from low frequency noise was not occurring, there would be no need for the Waubra Foundation to advocate for research and for better noise pollution regulations and enforcement.”
The Waubra wind farm was developed in 2009 and that is when some residents reported health problems.
“Most noticeable is ear pressure some days that ear pressure will end up like a headache,” local farmer Donald Thomas said.
The problems were nicknamed Waubra Disease, and in 2010 the Waubra Disease Foundation was born.
It later became shortened to just the Waubra Foundation.
ABC News reports local farmer and shire councillor David Clark lives 800 metres from a turbine.
He said the only side effect he was suffering from was the negative image he said the Waubra Foundation was bringing to the district.
He is one of more than 300 people who have signed a petition asking for the foundation to stop using the town’s name, although only 179 of those are locals.
However, Mr Thomas believes the Waubra Foundation must keep its name.
“They’re known quite well worldwide now and I think they should really retain that name and we should be proud of the name because of what they’ve done,” he said.
