Supporters and opponents clash at fiery Thirroul wind farm forum 

One man fears there will be no sunrise because wind turbines will be three times higher than the sun at the horizon, while another worries he will no longer be able to paraglide from Bald Hill.

Others fear their coastal views will be affected, property prices will plummet and residents will need “billions of dollars” in compensation for the cost of their houses if wind farms are built off the Illawarra.

Fears, insults and opinions were shouted across a packed Thirroul community centre on Saturday afternoon, at a forum on the proposal to establish an offshore wind zone off the coast of the Illawarra.

More than 200 people, mostly middle aged or older, gathered to hear from a panel put together by Cunningham MP Alison Byrnes about the plans.

The federal government opened consultation on the Illawarra Offshore Wind Zone in September, asking for feedback on a zone covering 1461 square kilometres of ocean between 10 and 30 kilometres offshore.

Facebook campaign groups meet in person

The proposal has proved divisive, with multiple anti-wind farm Facebook groups springing up.

On Saturday, as people lined up to get inside, a man in a “Vote No to the Voice” t-shirt handed out anti-wind farm flyers and stickers, and a flashing road sign set up along Lawrence Hargrave Drive pointed people to a website to sign a petition.

One group who missed out on a spot inside argued with Labor staffers that they should be let in, as plain clothed security personnel stood at the door.

Inside, the mood of the room was tense and combative, with many of wind farm opponents urging panelists – who they said were too pro-wind farm – to “hurry up” so they could get to the Q&A part of the session.

As questions were opened up, it was mainly those who came forward, most with print outs of visualisations and research they had found online to support their arguments.

Kiama resident Alex Petersen accused the panel and government of peddling misinformation, and said he believed the wind farm would affect the sunrise.

“When you look at the rising run, how big do you think the wind turbines are compared to the rising sun coming off the ocean?” he asked.

“They are three times bigger than the rising sun so we’re going to get no sunrise.”

Paraglider Chris Wolf spoke about concerns that turbines would create turbulent air, that would mean he would not be able to fly at Bald Hill anymore.

“It has the serious potential to jeopardise paragliding at Stanwell Park,” he said.

Another man asked “what about property prices?” and said people may need to be compensated for a loss in value due to the wind farm.

Ms Byrnes said people should be careful of their own misinformation and urged people to check their sources before believing things they had read on social media.

She also said the consideration of the offshore wind zone was the first step in a long process, and that there would be no turbines in the ocean for at least five to seven years.

She said the zone needed to be established before any concrete plans can be lodged by developers, assessed or approved to create an offshore power station, where turbines could generate 4.2 gigawatts of electricity – enough to power up to 3.4 million homes – in the coming decades.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has said the Illawarra zone had the potential to create 2500 construction jobs and 1250 ongoing roles in the upkeep and maintenance of the turbines.

‘School assemblies are more orderly than this’

School teacher and NSW Teachers Federation representative Natasha Watt spoke in favour of the wind farm, saying she and other teachers had supported students affected by the Black Summer bushfires and traumatic climate change, and were in favour of a renewable energy transition.

As she was loudly heckled by a group of vocal men who spent much of the meeting holding anti wind farm signs, Ms Watt said she wasn’t bothered.

“Honestly, school assemblies are more orderly than this,” she chastised them.

Earlier, South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris began his presentation asking if anyone in the room did not agree that climate change was real and warming the planet.

A handful of people raised their hands, with the majority saying they agreed renewable energy was needed but they did not think wind farms were the answer.

There were also a smaller number of people who identified themselves as supportive of wind farms, cheering when the panelists or other supporters spoke.

Dr Jodi Edwards spoke about her connection to the whales through generations of Aboriginal elders – one of the main concerns raised through online forums by those fighting against the wind farms – by telling Dreaming stories partially using Dharawal language and song.

However, some people were not keen to listen to her perspective, with one older man telling her “we came here for turbines and all we’re getting is rubbish”.

As jeers erupted, actress and Hi Neighbour founder Yael Stone asked attendees to stay respectful, urging people to come together to get the best outcome for the Illawarra.

“I know this is dynamic and exciting and we are yelling at each other, and that might be fun, but it’s deeply damaging for the community,” she said.

‘Go and talk to your kids and your grandkids’

Ty Christopher, the Director of UOW’s Energy Futures Network, also asked people to be civil in asking their questions and called on them to think of younger generations as they considered wind farms.

He said he had recently asked his 21-year-old daughter about her thoughts on offshore wind.

“She said I do know we need to stop burning coal and cooking our planet, and if we have to put up with looking at some new infrastructure to get to the point where we have a future for our planet and future employment for our region, then that’s what I’m in favour of,” he said.

UOW student Ellen Couch said her research had found 80 per cent of young people were in support of a wind farm plan.

The formal panel discussion and questions continued for three hours, with plain clothed security circulating the room as people shouted and jeered.

As the last question was asked, a woman began shouting from the crowd saying she was not aware of the proposal until a week ago, and asking for more consultation time.

Ms Byrnes urged attendees to put in submissions outlining their concerns by October 16, and said there would be more opportunities for the community to have their say as the proposal progressed.

She also said people should speak to their children.

“I was out on the cycleway the other day and young woman came up to me and she said ‘thank you for fighting for offshore wind, I am having a big fight with my grandad about this at the moment’,” she said.

“Go and talk to your kids and your grandkids.”