transmission line

The farmers invited by Member for Mallee, Dr. Anne Webster, met with the Nationals leader David Littleproud, shadow ministers and senators, with Dr. Webster saying Mallee communities were being railroaded into accepting the $3.3 billion VNI West project. "I am deeply concerned for the region and fear Labor is railroading the community over thousands of kilometres of prime farmland and irrigation districts for a project that will have an enormous cost blow-out and detrimental consequences," Dr. Webster said.

Dozens of concerned farmers have descended on Canberra, urging Federal Labor to rethink its plan to build hundreds of kilometres of poles and wires through regional Victoria. The farmers met with The Nationals leader David Littleproud and Federal Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster, who echoed the group’s concerns.

“For the last four years, the VFF has consistently called for a coordinated approach to transmission infrastructure planning. The government has heeded our call and taken some action in formulating the Victorian Transmission Investment Framework. Disappointingly however, the framework continues to neglect farmer concerns. It does not speak about agricultural land use and the impact on food and fibre production”: VFF President Emma Germano.

Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio has launched the Victorian Transmission Investment Framework (VTIF) ... The Victorian Government body, VicGrid, will lead transmission project planning and development, and ensure local communities, landholders, Traditional Owners and other key stakeholders are consulted on these major projects from start to finish.

Gannawarra Shire Council has welcomed a proposed realignment of the VNI West route, which would involve constructing new high capacity electricity transmission lines that will pass through the Gannawarra ... “Council, along with the Murray River Group of Councils, has been advocating for VNI West to pass through the Gannawarra, and we have been promoting the benefits of these works to our residents for the past six years,” Mayor Charlie Gillingham said.

As government policies lead to soaring energy prices, the Victorian Government is changing the preferred route and accelerating works on the 500 kilovolt double-circuit overhead transmission line between Victoria and New South Wales ... According to the AEMO report, councils have indicated there is a broader social licence for VNI West crossing the Murray River north of Kerang (option 5a) instead of the Echuca route, and therefore more likelihood of timely implementation.  

Northern Grampians Shire Council is appalled that widespread community opposition has had no material impact on Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) final recommended alignment for the controversial VNI West power transmission project ... “Landowners need clear and concise answers to the questions they have asked and not simply to refer them to some other arrangement as a reference to how it might work here": Mayor, Cr Kevin Erwin.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has slammed the Andrews Government’s decision to steamroll ahead with transmission developments in Western Victoria following the announcement of a new corridor for the proposed VNI-West project. VFF President Emma Germano said Victoria’s Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio is using extreme powers to come over the top of farming communities and force transmission towers to be built on their land.

WA’s energy safety regulator is investigating an incident in Gnangara in which a teenager is believed to have received an electric shock from high-voltage power lines while clearing vegetation. Building and Energy electrical inspectors were at the property where witness accounts indicated the teenager sustained serious hand and other injuries after his trimming equipment made contact with the power lines, causing the electric current to pass through his body.

Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio confirmed that the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) can progress the critical VNI-West project, which will better connect the Victoria and NSW energy grids ... A Ministerial Order has been implemented to progress AEMO’s preferred option, which connects VNI West to the planned Western Renewables Link (WRL) at a terminal station at Bulgana in Victoria’s west, then linking to a terminal station near Kerang in north central Victoria, before crossing the Murray River north of Kerang.