Stop AusNet’s Towers Newsletter – May 2022

Regarding AusNet’s use of Section 93 access and the soon to be shared Statement of Expectations (SoE) being developed by the Essential Services Commission (ESC) with regards to land access.

The community is aggrieved by the way the proponent (AusNet) has conducted its business generally as well as under its alleged Electricity Transmission Licence (Vic).

Sentiments conveyed are:

• The proponent has made no effort to acquire social licence and after campaigning for better outcomes for eighteen months or more, the opportunity for social licence is all but lost.
• There is not trust the proponent will comply with the SoE after this instrument has been implemented. Therefore, certainty around compliance enforcement is essential.
• Irrespective of the SoE, the community still hold firm belief that the proponent for the WVTNP is in fact Mondo Power Pty Ltd. This is reasonable to expect given the volume of public documents relating to the WVTNP procurement process. As per public records, Mondo Power Pty Ltd does not hold an Electricity Transmission Licence (Vic).
• Should the proponent hold a Victorian Electricity Transmission Licence, many in the community believe the proponent is not ‘fit’ to hold this licence due to the lack of honesty, integrity, and poor reputation. The conduct of persons and related parties is viewed by many in the community as dishonest, deliberately misleading, and completely unacceptable.

Without knowing which legal entity was awarded the contract for the WVTNP and sighting the contract(s) execution page(s), Stop AusNet’s Towers and the community are unable to support the proponent when exercising powers under Section 93 of the Electricity Industry Act 2000.

It would also be unrealistic for the ESC or the proponent to expect that implementing the SoE will allow the process to return to ‘business as usual’ for the many sentiments conveyed above.

We are hearing AusNet are once again out in the community causing significant issues with their broken and disjointed community and landholder engagement.

AusNet have been spruking a “new route” in selective engagements with landholders. This disjointed and clandestine approach is further evidence of AusNet’s failure to openly engage.

AusNet are attempting to coerce and cajole certain landholders by offering to move the alignment to different parts of their property or off their property and onto others. Cleary any move of the proposed easement and infrastructure on one land parcel will have impacts to adjacent land.

AusNet’s proposed rerouting of parts of the easement does nothing to address the identified concerns it simply relocates those many issues associated with this project.

This “disengagement” by AusNet is another frustrating distraction with no suitable outcome.

AusNet need stop dancing around the major impacts identified by the community.

Monday May 16th in Bacchus Marsh will provide an opportunity for community members to voice their concerns about the proposed WVTNP.

Head to Eddie Toole Reserve, Main St, Bacchus Marsh on Monday, May 16 from 11am – 12pm.

Wear your “Stop AusNet’s Towers” T-shirts take your banners and most importantly voice your concerns about this devastating and ill-conceived project to the hundreds of thousands of listeners.

The Conversation Hour live from Bacchus Marsh – ABC Radio MELBOURNE – ABC Radio

Image: ABC News

We are taking our fight to the Streets of Ballarat.

The “Stop AusNet’s Towers Winter Rally” will converge on Ballarat on Friday July 15^th at noon.

We are coordinating three convoys that will including tractors, buses, trucks, cars and horses to descend upon Ballarat from the East, West and North with the message to “Underground It”

Start making your banners and thinking about how you will dress up your vehicles.

More information to follow.

Dig deep and tell your friends and neighbours. Every donation helps.

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