Route change surprise, ‘consultation’ disputed

A NEW preferred route lacking detail was a disastrous recipie that could set the Victoria-New South Wales interconnector project back a decade.

Prairie West’s Donald McGauchie said it was astonising that a new route had been put on the table so late in the process.

He joined with Loddon Shire Mayor Dan Straub in questioning the lack of consultation on the new preferred route running north from St Arnaud to above Wedderburn over to Boort and Pyramid Hill.

“The current preferred path seems to take the path of least resistance,” said Cr Straub.

“There’s been no local consultation by AEMO with council. Any consultation had been through a presentation to councillors on the earlier preferred option from Bendigo and through Prairie to Kerang. There’s been no consultation on this new Option 5.”

Cr Straub said AEMO must honour its commitment for robust community consultation after ditiching the Prairie route.

“No Government sweeteners can be a substitute for proper process and community consultation,” he said.

An AEMO spokesperson said the new preferred option followed “feedback from face-toface and virtual meetings with traditional owners, councils, industry and local communities on the Project Assessment Development Report (PADR) has seen 26 written submissions received”.

The spokesperson did not say whether a more detailed map would be released.

“Multi-criteria analysis clearly shows that connecting VNI West from near Kerang directly to WRL at a new terminal station near Bulgana (between Ararat and Stawell) outperforms all other options considered.

“This will require construction of WRL from north of Ballarat to Bulgana at 500 kV rather than 220kV and will remove the need to build a new terminal station north of Ballarat. Option 5, connecting VNI West from near Kerang to WRL at a new termi- nal station near Bulgana is the strongest performing option once social, environmental and engineering issues are considered in the analysis,” according to AEMO.

“It outperforms all other options under the multi-criteria analysis, including the site north of Ballarat proposed for the VNI West connection to WRL in the Project Assessment Draft Report.”

AEMO says Option 5 is estimated to deliver $1.4 billion in net benefits.

Mr McGauchie said the change of preferred option late in the process was “curious”.

He said the original option from Bendigo to Kerang would have seen new transmission lines in existing easements.

What Aemo Says About Announcement

AEMO Victorian Planning (AVP) and Transgrid published a consultation report last Thursday, this is what they said:

VNI West is a proposed new 500 kilovolt overhead transmission line connecting WRL in Victoria to EnergyConnect in New South Wales, identified to harness cleaner, lowcost electricity from renewable energy zones in both states and strengthen Victoria’s connection to Snowy 2.0.

Together, these projects will increase network resilience and energy reliability for consumers in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, increase the sharing of energy and help put downward pressure on electricity bills.

AVP Group Manager Nicola Falcon said that broad and open engagement continues for this critical project to provide reliable, secure and affordable electricity as Aus-

Duck hunting season gets okay for now

VICTORIA’S 2023 duck hunting season has been reduced to 34 days and a four-bag daily limit put on shooters.

“Option 5 will need to the creation of new easements,” he said. “It will take years.”

Mr Gauchie said: “It looks like they have caved into pressure from greens around Daylesford.”

He said the identified land of interest between St Arnaud and Pyramid Hill in the latest report was just a shaded section on a map.

“The lines could run anywhere between 20km and 30km from the central point. There’s no detail,” he said.

Mr Gauchie said a six-week consultation period on a new preferred option was ridiculous,

“I would challenge AEMO to tell us of one local landholder who has been consulted,” he said.

“Option 5 through lakes, olive groves and areas of Aboriginal significance ... it’s a recipe for disaster.”

Both Cr Straub and Mr McGauchie have called for proper community briefings and consultation.

“But you can’t consult without the detail,” Mr McGauchie. “This is a multi-billion project with little information.” tralia undergoes a once-in-a-century energy transition. “The assessment of alternate VNI West corridors was brought to our attention through stakeholder submissions to the Project Assessment Draft Report (PADR) and through meetings with Traditional Owners, councils, industry and local communities,” Ms Falcon said.

Victorian Farmers Federation has demanded the Government urgently clarify the rights of farmers set to be impacted by the huge expansion of electricity transmission infrastructure.

“We’ve acted on that feedback by assessing not only the technical and economic elements for seven potential options, but also broader land planning, environmental and social factors.

“Taking all these factors into account, we now believe we have found a better option, which would connect VNI West into WRL further west at Bulgana and remove the need for the proposed terminal station north of Ballarat.”

AVP and Transgrid will now consult with stakeholders on this assessment over a sixweek period. A final decision on the proposed, preferred option will be included in the final regulatory report, the Project Assessment Conclusions Report (PACR) in May 2023. Earlier this week, the Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources, Lily D’Ambrosio made an Order under the National Electricity (Victoria) Act 2005 to help fast-track VNI West in recognition of the crucial role it will play in unlocking renewable generation in Victoria and connecting with the New South Wales grid.

The order enables AVP to consider alternate VNI West options, which reduce the risk of delays, and better meet local needs.

This is consistent with the feedback AVP and Transgrid have heard from communities and the need for earlier, broader community engagement through the regulatory process.

The State Government has also announced a Legislative Council inquiry into the future of duck hunting.

Outdoor Recreation Minister

Sonya Kilkenny said duck hunting in Victoria had become “increasingly contested”

The Parliamentary committee will have terms of reference including the operation of the annual recreational native bird hunting seasons, arrangements in other Australian jurisdictions, their environmental sustainability and impact on amenity, and their social and economic impact.

Murray Plains MP Peter Walsh said Government had moved its own duck hunting goalposts and belatedly announced just a fiveweek slot for the state’s hunting season. A full-length season was recommended based on harvest modelling by the experts, he said.

Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting said not banning the shoot placed “unnecessary and appalling risks on our native wildlife and regional communities”.

Dan Straub, a recreational duck hunter and Loddon Mayor, said the annual duck season brought economic benefits to local communities. He said he would be writing to local MPs asking they back the retention of duck hunting. “We are duck hunters, a community of people and labelled a minority but don’t we deserve equal rights to undertake a legal activity,” he said.

Sheep theft probe teamwork call

LODDON police at the weekend asked district farmers to report any suspicious vehicles as they continue investigations into the theft of 700 sheep from a Logan property.

Senior Constable Andrew Gibbs said: “Police are continuing regular patrols in rural areas but we cannot be in every place at the one time.

“Local farmers can help by regularly checking sheep flocks and reporting anything strange - vehicles, trailers, horse floats - to the nearest police station straight away,” he said.

Presentations recognise long-serving staff

LONG-SERVING Boort District Health staff were recognised at the service’s annual general meeting.

Board chair Wendy Gladman and board member Laurie Maxted presented certificates to staff on reaching their milestones.

10 years: Helen Absalom, Beverley Taylor, Julie Puttick, Robyn Kennedy, Susan Laversha, Beryl Lacey.

15 years: Julie Wilson, Sharyn O’Rourke, Julie Walton, Kathryn Velleley, Ena Green.

20 years: Jeanette Long, Maree Stringer, Deanne Smith, Lois Seipolt.

PICTURED (from left): Sharyn O’Rourke, Wendy Gladman, Laurie Maxted, Julie Wilson, Kathryn Velleley, Susan Leversha, Julie Walton and Julie Puttick.