We’ve reacted with concern following recent comments from Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio, warning that the State Government’s energy transition risks alienating the very communities it needs most.
While the VFF supports the shift to renewable energy, VFF President Brett Hosking said the transition is being derailed by poor planning, worrying rhetoric, and alarming legislative proposals including the VicGrid Bill Amendment, which would allow police-enforced access to farms and fines of up to $12,100 for landholders who resist.
“Farmers are not opposed to renewable energy. We know the world is changing and we’re part of that change, but we won’t cop being steamrolled in the process.”
“The VicGrid amendments are deeply troubling. Allowing police to enforce access and slapping hard working farmers with fines for simply wanting to protect their land is not how you build trust, it’s indicative of how trust has been lost,” Mr Hosking said.
Mr Hosking said the government’s determination to press ahead with major transmission projects without genuine community consultation including the Western Renewables Link (WRL) and VNI West is undermining both public confidence and the project’s viability.
“The WRL and VNI West are both failed projects and they should be scrapped entirely. Both have been mismanaged from the start, and communities have made it clear they won’t accept it being forced through their paddocks.”
“These projects are too important to get wrong and the Victorian Government is risking a smooth renewable energy transmission by attempting to ram these projects through. Acknowledging the mistakes and starting again is the only way to deliver a smooth transition.”
“The VFF has directly expressed our concerns with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and written to all MPs, urging them to vote down the VicGrid Reform Bill,” Mr Hosking said.
The VFF is alarmed by the Minister’s comments that “transmission lines will be built” regardless of community concerns. It’s approaches such as this that foster opposition in our rural communities which only serves to delay meaningful emissions reduction.
“We’ve had enough of being treated like obstacles, instead of partners.”
“Good policy isn’t made in a Spring Street bubble or podcast studio, or by using threats of fines and jail or coercion, rather it is done through genuine consultation with those that live and work on the land.”
The VFF is calling for the Victorian Government to:
- Withdraw or significantly amend the VicGrid Bill to remove coercive powers;
- Scrap the Western Renewables Link (WRL);
- Scrap VNI West
- Commit to respectful, transparent consultation with landholders and local communities;
- Recognise and protect agriculture as a vital land use in energy planning.
“The transition to renewables can and should be a win for everyone, but that means doing it right.”
“The government needs to drop the heavy hand and start partnering. Otherwise, they risk doing lasting damage to rural communities and undermining public confidence in the whole transition,” Mr Hosking concluded.