Stop AusNet’s Towers Newsletter – August 2022

“There’s nothing more powerful than the unified voice of the Community”

On Friday July 15^th, 2022 the Western Victorian community once again united and rallied against the ill-conceived and dangerous Western Victorian Transmission Network Project (also known as the “dud” project that will destroy and plunder agriculture, tourism, communities and the natural environment).

Over 200 vehicles including tractors, ute’s, fire trucks, semi-loaders, a team of horses and around 500 plus angry and passionate community members took to the streets of Ballarat.

The rally received significant media coverage from around the country and brought increased awareness to the fight.

Themes of the speakers at the rally included:

Impacts

• If AusNet succeeds, this project will devastate our communities.
• Bushfire risk will skyrocket.
• Farmland in Victoria’s food bowl will be destroyed. The many service industries in Ballarat will be impacted, many of which are represented here today, and McCain’s production will be severely impacted.
• Land values will plummet across the region, the Moorabool Shire predict that they will lose 20% of their rate income.
• The tourism to the wonderful Hepburn Shire and Ballarat will be scared by unsightly power lines.
• This project will cause immeasurable economic damage to local farmers and irreparable damage to the environment and some of our state’s most precious landscapes.
• And it will destroy the amenity and livability of communities along a 190km corridor of Victoria’s west.

The project is a mess

• This project is ill-conceived and has been poorly managed from its inception.
• AusNet have made a mockery of their responsibility to engage communities. They have no social license ….
• Their consultation is a sham.

There is a better way

• We’re sick of being told that the only way to deliver this project is at our expense.
• The State and Federal Governments would have us believe there have to be winners and losers. This is a lie. A complete failure of government, of policy and of imagination.
• In Germany, the world’s longest underground transmission line is being built. The 700km SuedLink power line travels the length of Germany from north to south. It’s being delivered 100 per cent underground. No transmission towers. No lost farms. No lost property. Zero risk from fires. No trees and habitats destroyed. This is what a proper solution looks like.

Call for Action

• Today, we call on the Premier and his Government to listen to us before they rubber stamp a project that will destroy livelihoods … decimate Western Victoria … and put lives at risk.
• We are putting the current politicians and all candidates on notice – we will not vote for candidates that support this project in its current form.
• We need to make our voices heard … from here all the way to Spring Street.
• There’s too much at stake. It’s time to Stop AusNet’s Towers.

AusNet are not listening, in fact they have amplified their campaign of aggressive bullying and stand over tactics with community members. AusNet are playing a dangerous game of pitting landowners against each other and attempting to divide and conquer by releasing route modifications to some landholders and in turn “blaming” their neighbours for the changes.

We cannot allow this deceitfulness and deception by AusNet to divide us.

We will continue to stand together as a United Community and fight this horrendously planned project and the ineptness of AusNet.

We again ask AEMO and the State Government to intervene and put an end to AusNet’s contract and take this project back to the drawing board.

With your significant financial help, over the past 18 months the Stop AusNet’s Towers team along with our specialist legal professionals and supported by Australia’s leading energy market experts have pulled apart AEMO’s ‘RIT-T’ cost benefit process that led to AusNet’s now Western Renewables Link project.  The purpose of this work has been to understand and use the National Electricity Law behind the RIT-T, to bring about what we know must be done – that AEMO must stop AusNet’s project and go back to the drawing board to re-do the entire process.

We appreciate the community’s patience as we mount these significant and sensitive legal undertakings – action is imminent, and we’ll be able to tell you more soon. This has been exhaustive work involving thousands of volunteer hours and significant cost necessary in using leading legal and energy experts. As the first proposed major transmission upgrade in 40 years, we are breaking new ground under the law which we hope to benefit not only ourselves, but all regional communities facing similar future circumstances.  Any members wishing to know more or be involved are welcome to contact the committee.

Importantly we again want to thank those who have given generously to the campaign, your contribution and support have been invaluable as we fight this horrendous and ill-conceived project.

Engage Victoria – Victorian Transmission Investment Framework Preliminary Design – Community Feedback

Have your say on how Victoria plans the development of Renewable Energy Zones by completing this short survey focused on community issues.

Victorian Transmission Investment Framework community survey questions.

https://engage.vic.gov.au/victorian-transmission-investment-framework

Extracts from Moorabool News Article “Powerline Reroute Possible” by Lachlan Ellis –

Chair of Stop AusNet’s Towers, Emma Muir, said Mr Ondarchie’s statements were “a good start, but could go further”. “It’s not perfect, but it certainly goes further towards listening to the community, engaging with stakeholders, and having an independent person or VicGrid, which is a government body and not necessarily independent, to assess the impacts of the project on local regional communities,” Ms Muir said.

“It possibly gets us a seat at the table, which we don’t currently have They still need to consider the social, environmental, and economic impacts of these projects. If VicGrid propose to do that, then were on board, absolutely. Currently, the planning with AEMO is purely done on a RIT-T, which just looks like putting the powerlines in…it doesn’t consider economics, environment, or safety impacts.”

Ms Muir acknowledged the big step “the Opposition was making, in taking responsibility for the Western Renewables Link’s approval. “At least they’re taking ownership of this, the Labor Party don’t even talk about it. It’s a big step for the Opposition to say, we will change this whereas Dan Andrews says it’s not his project,” Ms Muir said.

“And yet it is his project, because his government is running the Environment Effects Statement, his government will make the planning amendments, he has the final say on it. The Libs/Nats newsletter states, A future Liberal Nationals Government will intervene and reroute this transmission project from Bulgana. To Sydenham via Mortlake and Lara…utilise existing easements and protect communities across the Waubra, Glendonald, Mount Prospect and Long Forest areas.”

Have your say on this Policy: https://www.poweringvictoria.com.au/

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