Regional Victorian community members take their fight to Melbourne’s Spring Street and delivering a simple message: Stop Labor’s Towers – save our environment, communities and farms.

Hundreds of farmers, residents and landowners will rally on the steps of the Victorian Parliament demanding the State Government refuse to approve the proposed 500 plus high-voltage transmission towers carving a destructive 100-meter-wide easement through farms in Victoria’s food bowl, bushfire-prone landscape and protected state parks and native habitat. Both projects fall under the full ownership and control of the Victorian Government.

A procession of tractors, horses, fire trucks and agricultural vehicles will form a vehicle procession around Parliament House along Spring Street.

Stop Labor’s Towers is an alliance of landowners, residents, farmers and communities concerned about the environmental, social and economic impact of the proposed Western Renewables Link and the VNI-West high voltage transmission network projects.

Stop Labor’s Towers spokesperson Emma Muir said “The State Government of Victoria must be held to account for it’s poor planning and execution of these projects. If the State Government proceeds with these projects, it will cause immeasurable economic damage to local farmers and irreparable harm to the environment and landscape – to say nothing of the amenity and liveability of our region and the wellbeing of residents. Bushfire risk will skyrocket, high-value agricultural land that feeds Victoria will be destroyed, and land values will plummet.”

“Our communities support renewable energy and understand the importance of an energy grid that delivers renewable energy to where it is needed. However, the delivery of renewable energy must not come at the cost of food security destroying valuable and irreplaceable agricultural land, cause catastrophic damage to the environment nor put lives at risk from severely increased bushfire risk.”

“Above ground transmission infrastructure is not a future proof solution and AusNet, AEMO and the government are green washing this project”.

WHAT: Tractor Rally – Spring Street Melbourne
WHEN: 12:45pm Tractor Procession and Speeches 1:00pm Tuesday 15 August 2023
WHERE: Victorian Parliament House steps, Spring Street, Melbourne