We are aware that several landholders along the WRL corridor have received Options Agreements for the proposed purchase of easements on their land. These agreements provide an overview of compensation and in essence hand over all rights to your land.

From day one of this project AusNet, AEMO and the State Government have failed to recognise the enormous impacts of this project on our properties and business, our environment and our communities. They have been highly dismissive of the significant life-threatening risks posed by the proposed infrastructure and easements. Now they want to ignore those impacts and risks and pay us out with, how much is your life worth?

Compensation does not offset the massive impacts and risks.

If you have an Options agreement, we ask that you “Hold the Line and Don’t Sign”

Do not be intimidated by AusNet or TCV to sign anything.

A licenced electricity corporation under the Electricity Industry Act is deemed as an ‘authority’ for the purposes of these acts.  AusNet is such a licenced electricity corporation – TCV is not at this time. Our previous legal advice has been that compulsory acquisition cannot occur until planning approvals are in place, still some time away for both WRL and VNI West – so there is no urgency for landholders here.   In contrast, given the continued alarmism about the lack of progress on transmission projects, there is real pressure on AusNet and TCV to sign up landholders to these voluntary deals, these first offers will almost certainly be low ball.

Landowners should therefore not put up with being ‘threatened’ with compulsory acquisition. If this mechanism is used to acquire an easement, it is a long way down the track (after the project approval stage) and with a tight 6 months’ timeline in which a Notice of Intention to Acquire (NOIA) is followed up by a Notice of Acquisition (NOA) an easement. No point in AusNet going that way now and TCV has absolutely no authority to do that at this time.

As the WRL community has done over the past three years, and the VNI West community has done throughout this year – we will remain United in our vocal and legal opposition to these catastrophic projects.

The communities have never sought to stop the transmission of energy however have vehemently fought to have energy transported in a manner that does not deliver the irreversible damage and loss of life these projects will deliver.

The Alliance awaits the outcome of its legal fight on two fronts:

• The Supreme Court trial from Sep 7-12^th that has sought on strong grounds to have the Victorian Energy Minister’s ‘VNI West and WRL Ministerial Orders’ quashed as unlawful.   We await the judge’s decision, the timing of his decision is at his discretion.
• The Alliance’s dispute that the VNI West Project Assessment Conclusions Report (PACR) published in May 2023 is not a valid PACR under the National Electricity Law.  We await the Australian Energy Regulator’s decision – they have advised it is likely to be Monday 16 ^thOctober.

There have been two key announcements over the past couple of weeks. On September 22nd, 2023 AusNet announced changes to the Western Renewables Link project.

Despite an abundance of correspondence, reports and Fact Sheets from the project proponents claiming that they are listening and responding to feedback this announcement demonstrates the continued pattern of disregard.

“The Western Renewables Link is now proposed as a 500kV transmission line from Sydenham to Bulgana. This means:

• The capacity of the 220kV section of the transmission line between Ballarat and Bulgana has increased to 500kV.
• The new terminal station north of Ballarat is no longer required.
• A new 500kV switchyard and associated equipment near the existing Bulgana Terminal Station is now required.
• The urgent Sydenham Terminal Station Rebuild will be completed separately and prior to the Western Renewables Link project.

As a result of these changes, the proposed route for the Western Renewables Link will move in the area to the north of Waubra. We are working with landholders in this area on this change.

In addition, at Hepburn Lagoon two options, to the north and to the south of the lagoon, were identified in November 2021 and the southern option has now been confirmed as the proposed route going forward.”

Western Renewables Link project update – Western Renewables Link

A second announcement has been made in relation to the VNI-West project.

TCV has narrowed the area of interest for the proposed transmission line to width of about 2km. The area under consideration was previously up to 50km wide. The narrowing reflects input and feedback from landholders, community members, Traditional Owners along with technical assessments.

Draft corridor for VNI West narrows area of interest

Both AusNet and TCV will be hosting several community information sessions over the coming weeks.

These sessions, of which there have been a number over the years, have exemplified AusNet and TCV’s inability to properly consult and in turn act on the communities’ feedback. However, we must continue to voice our opposition – we must continue to be heard.

AusNets and TCV’s repeated limp community engagement continues to demonstrate an underestimation of the impact. The façade of open community engagement after three years of not listening is unacceptable. Many thousands of community members have presented volumes of objections detailing their concerns associated with the impacts and risks of this project.

Efforts by AusNet, TCV and AEMO to espouse a campaign of open community engagement is weak and tepid. Little if any tangible actions have resulted from community feedback, no matter how significant the impact is nor how high the risk is however despite ill-informed and dismissive project proponents we must continue to voice our opposition.

WRL Community Sessions 

VNI-West Community Sessions