By Benjamin Millar
Bunninyong MP Michaela Settle has demanded plans for the controversial Western Victoria Transmission Network Project be sent “back to the drawing board”.
The AusNet Services project involves a proposed 190 kilometre transmission line stretching from Bulgana near Stawell through Moorabool and Melton to Sydenham, bringing renewable energy to the city grid.
A community campaign backed by Moorabool council has been pushing for the lines to be buried underground, a proposal AusNet says remains on the table.
Ms Settle has written to Australian Energy market operator Daniel Westerman demanding a complete redrafting of the plan.
“Moorabool Shire is a rich mixture of great natural beauty, prime agricultural land and the growing townships of Darley, Bacchus Marsh and Ballan,” she wrote.
“It is my job to be a strong voice for this community. So let me be clear.
“You asked AusNet to built the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project and we are asking you to send them back to the drawing board.”
Ms Settle said the project needs to respect the area’s prime agricultural land, natural landscapes and homes.
“Hear our voices and demand AusNet investigate all other options including undergrounding and alternative routes.”
AusNet last week announced the Environment Effects Statement (EES) for the project remains in its early stages of preparation, with environmental investigations under way to understand and minimise potential impacts.
“This includes technical investigations into a range of factors including visual impacts, farming practices and land use,” a spokesperson said.
“We are also considering undergrounding in accordance with the EES scoping requirements, including full undergrounding and partial undergrounding.”
Planning, design, assessment and decisions about approvals for this project are expected to continue for about two more years.
Member for Western Victoria Bev McArthur said this date is much later then earlier suggestions of 2022, indicating the project has become “an electoral hot-potato”.
She said resident Kelly Conroy’s recent ‘100 Mile Run’ protest has consolidated public angst against the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project.
