Senator MADIGAN (Victoria) (19:51): As many of you may be aware, I have been holding wind farm forums in several states. Tonight I want to talk very briefly about those forums and the stories of those who attended them. Several weeks ago I held the first of the public forums in Clare, South Australia, and last week one was held in Buninyong, outside Ballarat, in my home state of Victoria. I will be holding one in Yass next Monday, and have plans for further public forums in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. The forums are based around the seven recommendations made by the Senate inquiry into the social and economic impacts of rural wind farms and give the people who are living in high-density wind farm areas a chance to air their views and tell their stories. It also gives those who work on and support the wind farms a chance to express their opinions on these matters. To date, the impact of the forums has been overwhelming. The forums have been well attended and informative, and reports of them have drawn requests from residents in other states who want their own forums and the chance to express their concerns. I am not holding these forums to promote my personal or political opinions; I am holding them because I have been approached by people from across this country who want to express concerns that the wind farm inquiry has become a forgotten issue. Almost 100 per cent of the people who have attended the forum have been less than enthusiastic about the wind farm industry. I have heard stories of adverse health effects, stories of adverse environmental effects, stories of community rights ignored, stories of bullying by wind farm companies and stories of those who have simply had to get themselves and their families away from the turbines that have been built nearby. If the seven recommendations of the Senate inquiry were implemented, including the recommendation for further health studies on the effects of wind farms, I believe that many of these stories could have been avoided. If the recommendations were put in place, perhaps men and women would not have to abandon their homes because they are unable to spend one further minute listening to what they have called 'unrelenting noises' penetrating the walls of their homes. The forums that I have held are bringing more and more disturbing stories to light. Yet it seems that the wind industry is the golden child of the Australian government—above reproach or criticism. I am all for renewable energy. When an energy source produces enough energy, when it does not damage the environment and does not drive families out of their homes, I will stand behind it. The wind farm industry is yet to prove that it does any of these things.