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Energy Agriculture | September 06, 2024

Labor shows contempt with VNI West consultation

The Nationals’ Member for Lowan and Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Emma Kealy, has hit out at the Allan Labor Government for trying to sneak through consultation on the VNI West project during local government elections.

VNI West is a proposed high-capacity double-circuit overhead transmission line that will cut across prime agricultural land in Victoria’s north-west, forming a conduit between NSW and the Western Renewables Link project at Bulgana.

Project managers have applied to the Essential Services Commission for an electricity transmission licence, and the commission yesterday announced that a public consultation period would run until October 21 – one week before local council elections.

VNI West has been met with fierce opposition since it was first announced in 2022, with farmers even rallying with machinery in Melbourne’s CBD last year to urge the government to look at alternatives.

Ms Kealy said the consultation period falling during councils’ caretaker periods in the lead-up to elections was a deliberate and devious tactic.

“This is just another example of Labor failing to listen to communities and trying to stealthily push consultation through when locals’ focus is elsewhere,” she said.

“Just this week we found out Labor failed to engage with our community about the Joel Joel battery project, which was rushed through the planning process in just nine weeks.

“Make no mistake, the timing of the VNI West consultation is another deliberate tactic to stifle local voices.

“We are talking about large-scale industrial infrastructure on prime agricultural land, yet Labor has continually neglected to engage with farmers, or consider alternatives.

“Our farmers are the cornerstone of our communities and economies – they keep food on our tables and clothes on our backs – and yet they continue to be treated with contempt by this government.

“Building new power lines is unnecessary and expensive, and Labor should instead by looking at the Victorian Energy Policy Centre’s proposal to upgrade existing lines to help unlock renewables, rather than trampling through our communities and our livelihoods.

“Labor cannot manage projects and cannot be trusted, and it’s our communities who will pay the price.”

Ms Kealy urged residents to visit engage.vic.gov.au/transmission-company-victoria-pty-ltd-electricity-transmission-licence to lodge a submission or register for one of two online forums on September 19 and October 8.