By Lauren Henry

In the region last week for a farmers’ forum, The Nationals leader Matt Canavan says the federal Nationals will put a stop the Victoria to NSW Interconnector West, VNI West, if the Coalition is elected in 2028.

VNI West – the Victoria New South Wales Interconnector West project – is a proposed high-capacity double-circuit overhead transmission line to form a conduit between the Western Renewables Link project at Bulgana, east of Stawell, to New South Wales.

The federal Nationals’ announcement of scrapping VNI West is one step further than the state Nationals, who earlier this month said if the Coalition was elected to government in November’s state election, they would pause major transmission projects, including the VNI West project.

Mr Canavan told the ‘Defending your right to farm’ forum he had spoken to Liberal leader Angus Taylor, who had agreed they would not support the project.

He said the project was ‘rigged from the start’ because the government had ‘set the end destination before they asked the question’ about renewable energy projects.

“We’re going to be on the front lines of this war with you fighting against this,” he said.

Mr Canavan said the federal Coalition would scrap Labor’s net-zero agenda, which has driven the renewables rollout across regional Australia.

He said farmers and the community had made clear the impact the net-zero agenda was having on regional Victoria, including ‘destroying prime agricultural land with projects like VNI West’.

“Without Labor’s net zero agenda driving massive new transmission infrastructure, VNI West is simply not needed. If you scrap Labor’s net zero agenda then the case for VNI West collapses,” he said.

“We need an energy system that delivers affordable and reliable power, not billion-dollar transmission projects that benefit multinational renewable developers while regional Australians pay the price.”

The Coalition will cease any new financing, refinancing, concessional loans or debt for VNI West and related works.

Member for Mallee Anne Webster said Mallee had been ‘ground zero’ for the renewables rollout.

“I drafted the Prime Agricultural Land Protection Bill – which Matt Canavan kindly tabled in the Senate, and Alison Penfold MP in the House – which declares that The Nationals in government will not back federal funding for projects that trash our prime ag land,” she said.

“I organised this farmers’ forum in St Arnaud because it is crucial our leaders hear from farmers about the personal impact of Labor exploiting our regional communities and announce in person that I will not support the VNI West.”

Kanya farmer Marcia McIntyre said farmers felt relieved to hear the Coalition would scrap the VNI West project and described it as ‘a huge win for all Victorians’.

“VNI West and the associated REZ and renewables rollout threatens to destroy swathes of our food producing land, driving up the cost of food and damaging our food security for generations,” she said.

“Worse still, this completely unnecessary multi-billion dollar project has already caused extreme emotional stress across farming families and entire communities, while blowing out costs that will lock in forever higher electricity bills for every Victorian household and business.

“Victorians simply cannot afford another unnecessary, poorly managed dud project with extreme cost blowouts.”

Gre Gre North farmer Jason Barrett, who is opposed to the VNI West project as his mixed farm is in the planned route of VNI West, welcomed Mr Canavan’s commitment to stop the project.

“But we want to hear the state Nationals – leader Danny O’Brien - say they not only will halt it, but they will stop it,” he said.

“I don’t care what contracts they have to scrap or tear up. That’s not my problem. 

“We’ve signed nothing, and there’s hundreds of other farmers that signed nothing, so it’s a matter of stop it. Don’t halt it. Don’t stop and think about it. 

“ Think about how the state needs to work for the next 100 or 200 years. So we need to look at this properly and not halt it, but stop it.”

As well as pausing VNI West, the state Coalition also committed to a full review of the Victorian Transmission Plan, enabling the cost of new transmission lines to be put through a rigorous assessment process.

Mr O’Brien said the VNI West project had no social licence and Labor had increasingly made legislative changes, such as fines for farmers refusing access to their land, compulsory acquisition before planning and environment studies have been undertaken and the removal of third-party appeals to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

“The Labor government has ridden roughshod over regional communities with its renewables-at-all-cost energy policy,” he said.

“We will give farmers their rights back while pausing projects like VNI West and properly examining the alternatives.”

The entire May 27, 2026 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!

The entire May 27, 2026 edition of AgLife is available online. READ IT HERE!