Gee's ban on wind farms in state forests lapsed without a vote
Andrew Gee, a Member of Parliament (MP), wanted a national ban on wind farms in state forests. He named five forests it would cover for sure. The bill never got a vote and was dropped from Parliament's to-do list in June 2026.
Official name: Stopping Wind Farms in State Forests Bill 2025
- The bill would have stopped companies from building wind farms in any state or territory forest.
- It named five forests where the ban would apply for sure, including Sunny Corner and Canobolas.
- A minister could have asked the Federal Court, a national court, to stop a project that broke the rule.
- It was never voted on. It was dropped from Parliament's to-do list on 23 June 2026.
Who it affects
- Wind farm companies: They would have been banned from building, putting in or switching on a wind farm in a state forest.
- People living near the five named forests: Wind farm plans in those forests could not have gone ahead.
- A minister in the national government: They could have gone to the court for an order to stop a wind farm in a state forest.
Wind farms eyed for forests
State forests are public land that a state or territory has set aside as forest under its own laws. Some energy companies have looked at building wind farms in them.
This was a private bill. That means it did not come from the government. Andrew Gee MP brought it into the House of Representatives on 3 November 2025.
His notes on the bill say what it would do. Wind farms could not be built in state forests anywhere in Australia.
Wind farms banned
The main rule was short. Certain companies must not build, put in or switch on a wind farm in a state forest.
The rule covered the kinds of companies the federal Parliament can make laws about. That covers most companies that trade or deal in money. It includes the companies that build wind farms.
The bill gave a wind farm a wide meaning. It meant gear that makes or stores energy from wind. It also meant the power lines and other gear that carry the power away.
A state forest meant any land set aside as a state forest under a state law. It also meant land set aside as a territory forest under a territory law.
Five forests named
The bill listed five forests that would count as state forests for sure. They were the Sunny Corner, Vulcan, Mount David, Gurnang and Canobolas state forests.
Naming them meant no one could argue the ban left them out. The list did not limit the ban. Every other state forest would have been covered too.
Say a company had plans for wind turbines in the Sunny Corner State Forest. Under this bill it could not have built them, even if the state said yes.
How the ban would work
The bill did not set fines. It used injunctions. These are court orders that tell someone to stop doing something, or not to start.
The federal minister could have asked the Federal Court of Australia for an injunction against a company. This would apply to a company building a wind farm in a state forest.
This used the usual court powers in the Regulatory Powers Act 2014. That law sets out standard ways to make people follow federal rules.
Cost and start date
Mr Gee's notes on the bill say it would cost nothing.
It would have started the day after the Governor-General, who stands in for the King, signed it into law.
Dropped after time ran out
Mr Gee brought in the bill and spoke on its main idea on 3 November 2025. The House never debated it again or voted on it.
On 23 June 2026 it was dropped from Parliament's to-do list. House rules drop private bills that sit untouched for a set time.
The bill will not become law unless someone brings it back.
Its journey through Parliament
| 03 Nov 2025 | House of Representatives: Introduced and read a first time |
| 03 Nov 2025 | House of Representatives: Second reading moved |
| 23 Jun 2026 | House of Representatives: Removed from the Notice Paper in accordance with (SO 42) |