Critics of the proposed 190-kilometre high-voltage transmission network that will stretch through Melton and Moorabool will take their fight to the steps of the Victorian Parliament on Tuesday March 8.
Distressed members of the community, including residents, farmers and landowners, have remained vocal in their opposition of the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project (WVTNP), which is to be facilitated by AusNet Services.
Moorabool and Central Highlands chair Emma Muir said the weight of community concern left no choice but to take their concerns to Spring Street.
“If AusNet gets its way, this project will devastate our communities. Bushfire risk will skyrocket, high-value agricultural land that feeds Victoria will be destroyed and land values will plummet,”.
“This project 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.”
Both Melton and Moorabool council have also expressed their disappointment at the proposed route for the power line construction.
Moorabool council will host an online session on Wednesday, March 9, in a bid to help the community understand how to make a submission towards AusNet’s Environmental Effects Statement (EES).
In August 2020, the state government ordered AusNet to prepare an EES.
An EES disclosure process is designed to allow decision makers to make informed conclusions about whether a project should proceed given its relative impact on the environment.
The document, which will include details regarding how the project will affect agriculture, landscape, historic heritage, ecology, is expected later this year.
Moorabool council’s community planning and economic development executive manager Henry Bezuidenhout said the EES process represented an “important milestone” for individuals to lodge their concerns with the project.
“Acknowledging that most people do not take part in an EES in their lifetime, as well as that an EES is only publicly exhibited for 30 business days, Council has invited two expert guests to help prepare its community,” Mr Bezuidenhout said.
