NSW Parliament will probe sending lines underground

THE New South Wales Parliament will spend six weeks investigating options to put rewewable energy transmission lines underground.

The inquiry by its standing committee on state development was confirmed last Thursday.

Calls have been made across Victorian communities and by farmer organisations, including in the Loddon, for VNI West and Western Renewable Link transmission lines to be sent underground.

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However, these have been rejected as too costly by the State Government and its energy agencies.

The NSW committee will look at the costs and benefits of undergrounding, existing case studies and current pro- jects regarding similar undergrounding of transmission lines in both domestic and international contexts, any impact on delivery timeframes of undergrounding, and any environmental impacts of undergrounding.

Committee chair Emily Suvaal said ‘This inquiry will allow us to hear community concerns regarding overhead transmission lines and understand the benefits and cost of putting that infrastructure underground.

“Given the billions of dollars being invested in renewing the NSW energy grid, it is important to get this right. The committee looks forward to engaging with local stakeholders and energy experts to examine what will work best.”

River scenes add beauty to sisters’ golden dig

COMEDY on the banks of the Loddon River hits national television screens next week with the premiere of Gold Diggers. River scenes were shot at two locations, including one near Eddington, for the series about sisters Gert and Marigold and their ambition to strike it rich by landing themselves “newlyrich idiots” on 19th century goldfields.

“The owner of the property was very accommodating. Sometimes we had over 160 people at the location with crew, cast and extras as well as horses,” said series producer Muffy Potter.

“The Loddon River was an incredible asset to our shoot. We scouted the river in late spring and summer and the locations we found still had enough water for our needs between February and April while we were in production.

“We also did multiple testings of the water quality to ensure our cast were safe.

“While location scouting, it was important to find locations where we didn’t see too many modern houses or infrastructure.”

Gold Diggers is set in a fictional town called Dead Horse Gap.

Potter said Porcupine Village in Maldon was the perfect main location for the production.

“We selected the Loddon River locations as it provided the beautiful natural landscape that we were after and was close to the Maldon area.”

Series creator and writer Jack Yabsley says Gold Diggers is an irreverent Australian comedy series set back in the 1850s.

“It’s fast, silly and historically inaccurate - rewriting the history of our country through a modern lens,” Yabsley said.

“Filming in the region was an absolute pleasure. The river scenes are full of natural beauty to draw the audience into our fictional world of Dead Horse Gap.

“We hope that the series will appeal to an international audience, so the world can fall in love with our characters and this beautiful part of the country.”

Series star Claire Lovering said: “Having an untouched natural landscape as beautiful as the Loddon River was so wonderful for our production.

“As an actor, it was such a treat to perform in such an immersive and authentic environment.”

Other Loddon River scenes were shot near Newstead that Potter said featured lovely river stones and beautiful trees. It was an idyllic location for a super-romantic date scene to be featured in the series.

Gold Diggers premieres on ABC-TV next Wednesday.