The villagers should have a forum to voice their feelings so they are not left with a nasty taste in their mouth and resentment in their gut. Further, negotiation with local people with local knowledge might even produce better outcomes for the proposed wind farm. If the Government is to achieve its renewable energy targets we know it has few choices. It can dot the crowded coastline or it can fill up the interior with these turbines. I am sure the Government would not allow hundreds of wind turbines around Newcastle, Wollongong or Sydney without very close and careful community consultation. The people of country New South Wales, and particularly the people of Taralga, no matter whose side one is on, deserve the same respect.

Two Saturdays ago I went to the beautiful village of Taralga on a village visit to meet constituents unable to travel the distance to my Bowral electorate office. Taralga was established in the 1830s and many of its existing buildings were constructed from local stones and rocks that are still to be found in the volcanic soils for miles around. With a village population of around 300, many of the residents can trace their ancestry back to the establishment of Taralga as a rural centre. Living in a small village, however beautiful, can have its drawbacks, of course. Everyone knows everyone else, and everything about them. Most of the time that is fine, and the closeness provides a great support network. But on Saturday I learnt what can happen to these relationships when outside influences are brought to bear.

In January last year the Government announced approval for the establishment of a wind farm of approximately l00 megawatts at Taralga. The result of this approval has been like an explosion in the middle of the village. Locals have scattered to various sides of the main street, shored up their positions, and now peer warily from behind their barricades. Such is the diverse response in the community caused by this proposal. Those who opposed the turbines took the issue to the Land and Environment Court, citing the risk to a number of endangered species and the damage to their landscape, as well as noise pollution. They raised about $100,000 to challenge the Minister's decision to approve the turbines. They lost.

The judge's decision to increase the number of permitted turbines may well discourage other community groups wishing to oppose future wind farms elsewhere.

Jane Starr is a new resident in the area who has taken on the running of her parents' property. Jane came to see me on Saturday, arriving in her truck with an enormous bail of hay on the back. She has only been in Taralga for a matter of months but the point she wanted to make was how the proposed wind farm had driven a wedge through the middle of the community. Despite her short time in the village this had still made an impact on her. Jane believes, and I absolutely agree, that any proposal that has the potential to split a close-knit community into at least two camps should be handled very carefully by the State Government. People have told me that Minister Sartor breezed into Taralga late one Friday after visiting Braidwood. He sauntered into the pub, had a bit of a chat and left. To my knowledge, that is the sum total of his consultation with the people of Taralga, but if that is not so I am very happy to have that corrected.

The detractors do not object to sustainable energy but they are concerned about the negative visual and noise impacts on the village as well as the effect on land values and wildlife. The supporters believe it will bring work to the village and will benefit local retailers. Others, who do not live in Taralga, believe it will contribute to greenhouse gas abatement. There are, of course, other pros and cons, but in whichever camp you sit the fact remains that this has driven a wedge through relationships that have been the backbone of this community for many years-as I understand it does to any community in Australia dealing with a wind farm proposal.

The argument has been brewing since August 2004 when a public meeting was convened at the local sports club by RES Southern Cross to advise of a wind farm proposal. This was a bolt from the blue for most residents but it was clear that the host property owners had known of the project for several years. This was perhaps the first wedge. In December of that same year an open day and public meeting was held in the memorial hall, facilitated by the council and attended by approximately 300 people. In February 2005 the company engaged a consultant, who I am told targeted selected local organisations to attend a meeting where they were asked to put forward a virtual wish list of projects for possible company sponsorship if the wind farm was to get approval. Another wedge perhaps.

Many of those present, however, responded to this bargaining approach by saying that it was totally out of order until, and if, the project was approved. Unlike with the preparation for the Crookwell II wind farm, no staff of the Department of Planning were present at any of these meetings although they did attend tours of the proposed wind farm site with the developer. At the request of the opponents of the wind farm, staff from the department returned to the village, where they were shown the negative effect on neighbouring properties and landscape and the effect on the views from various vantage points around Taralga. The Government, meanwhile, has sat back and done nothing.

This is not a debate about the rights and wrongs of wind farms but about how a government, mindful that this is a contentious issue, deals with community discontent and disharmony. In country areas, where memories can be long and small community size makes community harmony a very personal issue for every single resident, there is an important role for Government in ensuring that developments like wind farms do not unduly strain that social fabric. This Government has manifestly failed to even understand this, let alone do anything about it. And it would not be difficult, or even costly, to do so.

The villagers should have a forum to voice their feelings so they are not left with a nasty taste in their mouth and resentment in their gut. Further, negotiation with local people with local knowledge might even produce better outcomes for the proposed wind farm. If the Government is to achieve its renewable energy targets we know it has few choices. It can dot the crowded coastline or it can fill up the interior with these turbines. I am sure the Government would not allow hundreds of wind turbines around Newcastle, Wollongong or Sydney without very close and careful community consultation. The people of country New South Wales, and particularly the people of Taralga, no matter whose side one is on, deserve the same respect.