Late addition to AEMO consultation schedule

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A two-hour community consultation in Boort last Thursday morning saw no more than half a dozen people speak with AEMO representatives, according to Ken Pattison and Reg Holt who attended.

They said the information provided was only what had already been made available on the AEMO website.

Mr Holt and Mr Pattison are pushing AEMO provide a community benefit from running the new transmission line from St Arnaud through the Loddon Shire.

Mr Pattison said AEMO representatives in Boort told him there would be a pop-up consultation in Wedderburn.

Meanwhile, Northern Grampians Shire and St Arnaud’s Victorian Farmers’ Federation branch have organised a forum for next Tuesday evening.

VFF head of policy Charles Everest and

VicGrid chief executive officer Alistair Parker, will speak at the forum, VicGrid is the State Government authority responsible for co-ordinating planning and development of the energy grid.

AEMO says VNI West is a proposed new 500 kilovolt overhead transmission line connecting WRL in Victoria to New South Wales to harness cleaner, low-cost electricity from renewable energy zones and strengthen Victoria’s connection to Snowy 2.0.

Comment

WORDS like blindsided have been brandished about with increasing regularity since AEMO announced a change of direction on its preferred route to have high-voltage transmission lines connecting Victoria and New South Wales.

There have been many questions from landholders in a broad area of “land of identified interest”, often farmers of highly productive broad-acre land, mostly around how it will impact their operations.

And there has been criticism of AEMO for repeating what landowners in western parts of Victoria claim have been mistakes and errors in consultation, or lack of, on projects the other side of the Great Dividing Range.

That AEMO has been reluctant or unable to promote community consultation across the Loddon in a direct manner - just tucked away down a website screen and behind a drop down - is disappointing. Loddon Herald requests for confirmation Wedderburn has been added to the pop-up schedule have gone unanswered for a week. We have been asking your questions and will continue to give readers their voice on a project that can bring benefits to our region but requires more detail.

Chris Earl Loddon Herald editor