Haines pushes priority budget projects
Independent Member for Indi, Helen Haines, has made the case for significant investment in projects that benefit communities in the electorate in her submission to the federal government ahead of the May budget. The key themes of Dr Haines’ Indi Budget Submission reflect the widespread concerns of the electorate right now including increasing regional housing supply, providing cost-of-living relief and improving health outcomes.
Experts query wind plans costs and timing
The state government is accelerating planning approvals for renewable projects as several energy experts have predicted that Victoria's wind energy will be more expensive and will take longer to meet targets than the government has estimated. The Premier, Jacinta Allan, last week announced renewable projects will be eligible for an accelerated planning pathway under the Development Facilitation Program (DFP).
Liberals seek nuclear social licence
With the Latrobe Valley a possible site for a nuclear power station, the federal Opposition has upped the argument for nuclear as a possible way for the nation to lower greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining a reliable and cheaper energy supply.
James Lister MP wants answers
Today (Tuesday 19th) in parliament I tabled a question to the Energy Minister Mick de Brenni about what’s going on. What plans discussions has the state government had with Wind Prospects Pty Ltd about renewable energy projects in our back yard?
Power poles
Walk out your front door and look down the street. If you are in the regions or in suburbia, then you will look at a tall wooden pole that carries the cables that gives you electricity. Have you taken much notice of them? Probably not, but the pole is native hardwood harvested from a native forest where, through the application of science, it was encouraged to grow that straight. Timber power poles are selectively harvested from regrowth or working forests.
Three stars for Upper Yorke Road
Michelle Daw. Tens of millions of dollars will be spent upgrading Upper Yorke Road, following a determined five-year campaign by locals ... Member for Narungga Fraser Ellis hailed the announcement as a tremendous boost for YP’s road network.
Going solar suits some but those living near proposed Richmond Valley Solar Farm are not happy
Let’s go solar. Across the world, in Australia and NSW, there is a push for alternative energy including wind and solar power ... IndyNR.com spoke to a resident ... She is opposed to the Richmond Valley Solar Farm. She has many reasons for her opposition including the fire risk of the proposed large BESS.
The future is nearly here with biohub expected to be built by 2025
In years to come Casino could be known not only for its beef industry but for its innovation and sustainability. Visitors may still come to tour the Casino Food Co-op abattoir and packaging centre but there is likely to be great interest in seeing the workings of the biohub next door that creates energy from the nutrient-rich waste at the Co-op site.
Renewables fast-track steam rolls farmers: VFF
The VFF says the Victorian Government’s fast-tracking of renewable energy projects by accelerating planning approvals is a slap in the face after years of sham consultation with farming communities. VFF President Emma Germano said the green-lighting of major renewable projects adds to a poor-track record of consulting landholders set to be impacted and risks further alienating already frustrated farmers across Victoria.
Government hasn’t given up on Basin plan says Minister
"I’ve been very clear that my government does not support buybacks. This is not an empty promise – I have already demonstrated that I am taking action by releasing the NSW Alternatives to Buybacks Plan in February that clearly shows how we plan to minimise the exposure of regional communities to water buybacks": NSW Minister for Water, Rose Jackson.
Day of the outages
Sarah Herrmann. Several Wool Bay residents were frustrated by more than 30 momentary power outages ... which reportedly damaged appliances, adding to a steady stream of blackouts for the small township over multiple years ... "The biggest worry we’ve got is that we rely on CPAP machines at night time; medically, we’ve got to have it otherwise we could not wake up": Dave Norton, Wool Bay resident.
Mayoral matters
Cr Brett Ireland, Mayor. Congratulations to the community groups and businesses who received grant funding at our last council meeting through our Business Assistance Grants and Community Action Grants. We hope this money enhances or completes a variety of projects within our shire. We met with community members from Dimboola regarding the future of the senior citizens building in their town.
Landmark $4 billion investment for remote housing in the Northern Territory: Lawler, Uibo
The Federal and NT Governments have announced a landmark joint $4 billion dollar investment for housing in remote communities across the NT to help close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians ... The 10-year commitment to improve remote housing will see up to 270 homes built each year ... Labor Government is investing a further $120 million over three years to match the NT Government’s yearly investment ... in addition to the NT Government’s existing $40 million per annum investment in homelands housing and essential infrastructure upgrades.
Amid widespread transmission line confusion … “VNI”ˆWest must return to the drawing board”
“Victorian Labor’s attempt to again reboot consultation on transmission lines is an admission consultation has failed abysmally on VNI-West,” Member for Mallee, Dr. Anne Webster, says. The State Government has introduced a Bill to establish VicGrid, claiming the new brand will “modernise the way new energy infrastructure is planned and developed in Victoria while giving communities a voice in the process”.
Grong Grong solar farm developers delighted with progress – almost ready for commissioning
Construction of the Grong Grong Solar Farm near Narrandera is almost completed with new poles installed by HV contractors in preparation for grid connection this month. This will be an intense period of work for the consultants and contractors, who will ensure everything is in place to complete the solar farm and be ready for connection and commissioning.
Snowy project reaches new landmark
The Snowy 2.0 Cooma precast manufacturing facility has hit another significant milestone and completed production of 100,000 of the 130,000 concrete segments needed to line 27 kilometres of tunnels for the pumped-hydro megaproject.
VNI West under scrutiny again
The political dream of net zero requires a complete reversal of Australia’s power grid ... The process for delivering the new power line capacity has been debated, with prominent energy experts calling for the Australian Energy Market Operator and the Victorian Government to scrap plans to build the controversial VNI West transmission line and Western Renewables Link (WRL).
Second bridge study traffic data flawed
Patricia Gill. A Shire of Denmark-commissioned trafï¬c and evacuation management study used flawed data to determine that a second bridge was not necessary to evacuate the town in an emergency. The Shire’s 2011 Local Planning Strategy had demonstrated the need for the second bridge but the matter was dropped in 2018 after the Shire commissioned consultants GHD to report on the matter. In 2019 the Shire gave away $4.291 million in Royalties for Regions to build a second bridge and got back $2.5 million to upgrade Greens Pool.
Roadworks, roadworks, roadworks
Local roads have been all Hi-Vis, traffic cone and red light, green light lately as crews work on numerous Council and state roads. Toowoomba Karara Road from Drayton through to Felton has been rife with works ... Much of the work around the district has been financed with the help of flood recovery funds.
Plans for Delburn
The Delburn Wind Farm developer, Osmi Australia, has allayed speculation that the project would be affected by the federal government's rejection on environmental grounds of the Port of Hastings as a construction site ... Delburn involves the construction of 33 wind turbines each about 250 metres in height on plantation forest land owned by HVP Plantations ... recently deployed new fire detection technology that it said was a first for Australia and the wind farm industry.
Official openings for Jeparit and Nhill infrastructure developments
Hindmarsh Shire Council extends an invitation to all community members to attend the official openings of two important community projects in Jeparit and Nhill ... Dr Anne Webster, Federal Member for Mallee, will officially open the redeveloped Jeparit Riverbank Precinct and the Nhill Cane Ball Court...
Rushworth Rail Trail now heritage listed
Campaspe Shire Council and Heritage Victoria have been working on the new Rail Trail project in Rushworth. After detailed historical and site investigations, Heritage Victoria have placed the former Rushworth Railway Station on the Victorian Heritage Inventory (number H7924-0100).
