A $500,000 scientific committee created by the Coalition government to monitor the health effects of wind turbines held one face-to-face meeting in two years, failed to provide any official advice and had its work repeatedly rejected by research journals.

Documents also show that while the federal environment department’s budget has declined steadily under the Coalition, bureaucrats have splashed out on travel, treadmills and office refurbishments.

The scientific committee was established to advise the government on the health effects of wind turbines. Credit:Chris Ratcliffe

The Independent Scientific Committee on Wind Turbines was established in October 2015, fulfilling a commitment by the previous Abbott administration.

The four-person taxpayer-funded committee was tasked with advising the government on the potential health and environment impacts of wind turbine sound. It is chaired by RMIT adjunct professor John Davy, a leading acoustics researcher.