Horsham Rural City Council’s submission to a draft Victorian Transmission Plan urges VicGrid to compensate landowners for any damaged crops incurred during the works stage, and investigate old stock routes to locate transmission lines.

The council endorsed the submission at last week’s council meeting. The submission also calls on VicGrid to provide equitable compensation for landowners affected by transmission line upgrades.

The council has also urged VicGrid to protect valuable farmland and maintain agricultural productivity, ensure transparent and fair approvals that involve and support local communities; and create ‘real, lasting benefits for regional economies’.

VicGrid, a State Government agency, released its draft Victorian Transmission Plan in May, outlining how the state will upgrade its power infrastructure to support a future powered by renewable energy.

The plan identifies seven Renewable Energy Zones, REZs, and seven priority transmission projects.

One of the zones – the Wimmera Southern Mallee REZ – is proposed for the northern part of the Horsham municipality, extending along the Henty Highway into Yarriambiack Shire. A priority project, the North West Strengthening Program, includes building a major transmission line through the region.

At the council meeting, Cr Rebecca Sluggett said the plan identified an upgrade to existing transmission lines in the Horsham municipality.

“We’re unable to get a clear answer as to whether they would be eligible for compensation,” she said.

“I should just expand on the last point that the investigation, the old stock routes – there’s as many of five throughout Victoria – where the old stock routes are, and we’re hoping that with that submission, we might be able to get some looks at where transmission lines might be able to go along those, instead of privately held land.

“The submission includes  a call from our council for there to be mapping of high-value farming land and agricultural land, so that we can identify the land that should be protected at high-value agriculture.”

Cr Cameron  McDonald said he was ‘very concerned about the government legislation and where this was all going’.

“Battle lines have been drawn and … it’s concerning where it’s going. The government legislation’s fundamentally trying to override any farmer’s rights whatsoever. This is yet to play out but I think it’s going to end up at the farm gate, which is very concerning.

“So I would encourage the government to listen to our concerns in this regard because if they don’t, it’ll just end in tears.”

The council’s submission highlights that six of the seven REZs in western Victoria ‘will carry most of the burden of hosting renewable energy projects and infrastructure on behalf of all Victorians’.

“The extent and nature of the impacts this will have, positive and negative, are going to largely remain unclear until the energy market responds,” the submission reads.

“It is our communities and landscapes that will be directly affected. The possible triple bottom line effects are palpable and will inevitably include social – community cohesion, mental health and wellbeing; environmental – visual intrusion, impacts to biodiversity, water use; or economic – agricultural productivity, property values.

“HRCC understands the value of the VTP, however endorsing it would, effectively, require a confidence that a range of largely unknown impacts on our communities, environment and economy can or will be addressed positively. There remains too much uncertainty to do so currently.”

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