Liam McNally
Compensation offers for Melton and Moorabool property owners in the pathway of the proposed Western Renewables Link project have “whipped up a frenzy” of resistance, according to Moorabool and Central Highlands Power Alliance (MCHPA) chair Emma Muir.
MCHPA and other community groups have been protesting the high voltage power lines and 80-metre tall electrical towers being built on local properties for almost three years.
The project is a part of Victoria’s push towards renewable energy and involves the construction of powerlines through parts of Melton and Moorabool.
Ms Muir has said MCHPA wants the lines to be placed underground.
On Monday, March 20, AusNet released a landholder guide detailing options for easement process and compensation, which states landholders will be paid up to an additional $58,500 on top of the $8000 a year per square kilometre of land provided for the project that the state government announced in February.
These payments be in addition to compensation arrangements under the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986.
The document said that if no agreement is reached for easement, AusNet may seek to compulsorily acquire the land through the state government.
Ms Muir said the proposal is “firing people up even more”.
Following the release of the document, MCHPA met with AusNet and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) in Dean on Tuesday.
Outside of the meeting hundreds of community members and dozens of tractors gathered in a demonstration organised by another community group, Piss Off AusNet.
“Neither organisation is recognising their responsibility for the poor planning and poor decisions attributed to the project,” Ms Muir said.
On Thursday, MCHPA held a community information session, which Ms Muir said about 80 people attended.
“We are telling our community to stick together, stand united and reject these options,” she said.
“People will hold the line even harder, No amount of money justifies building a 85 metre tower on your property.”
Moorabool council chief executive Derek Madden said the guide contains a “small win for landholders”, in that compensation will be given based on any market value loss of the entire property affected, not just the easement area.
A state government spokesperson said: “We are providing additional compensation payments to ensure that we strike a balance between fairly compensating private landholders who host transmission infrastructure, and minimising the impacts on Victorians power bills“.
An AusnNet spokeswoman said AusNet Services took a “significant step“ towards negotiating compensation with landholders by providing the guidelines document.
