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son told AEMO representatives the consultation process was poor.

“They weren’t there to give answers, only take questions,” Amber said.

Peter said the consultation process had lacked transparency. And he said limitations on using farm machinery under transmission lines was at risk. “They said up to 4.5 metres ... the majority of our equipment is taller than that.”

Ripon MP Martha Haylett said: “I’ve been speaking to many locals about the VNI West project and encourage them to have their say as part of the consultation process.”

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“We are still unhappy with the whole consultation process. Basically the popups have just been a document handout.

“The project looks like it is going to start pretty quickly and we need to have dialogue (with AEMO) pronto.”

Helicopters hovering over preferred route

INCREASED activity has been reported in air space over the Loddon Shire in the past fortnight.

Some residents have speculated that helicopters could be surveying possible defined routes within AEMO’s preferred option five transmission line path.

The Loddon Herald contacted AEMO asking whether it had started aerial surveying. No response has been received.

‘Power to people’ VFF taskforce formed

A TASKFORCE to lead advocacy on renewable energy and transmission infrastructure development across Victoria and help give farmers a say has been confirmed by Victorian Farmers’ Federation.

VFF policy council formally established the group last Wednesday to focus on providing a united advocacy for farming communities battling proposed developments.

President Emma Germano said it was important that farmers directly impacted by these developments lead the VFF’s advocacy efforts on the issues affecting their communities.

“Ironically, this taskforce is about giving power to the people to have their say,” she said.

“Farmers need to be the ones at the centre of this. It’s their livelihoods at risk and it’s their communities that are being torn apart.”

“It’s vital that the VFF’s advocacy is directly connected to the communities that are set to be impacted. It’s also important that these communities are connected to one another,” Ms Germano said.

The taskforce will be led by the VFF’s planning, environment and climate change committee chair Gerald Leach who will work with horticulture vice-president, Katherine Myers, water councillor Kain Richardson and Gippsland branch president Hamilton Gerrand.

“The work done by farmer advocates to date has been incredible. I’m pleased that we will have people like Gerald, Katherine, Kain and Hamilton sharing their local experience with farmers from other parts of the state, who are just starting to learn about the significant impact these developments pose for their own farm businesses,” Ms Germano said.

Ms Germano said the taskforce’s focus would be on critical issues involving land access and compensation for farmers, whilst also looking at alternatives to overhead powerlines over farms.

“The Victorian Government’s announcement of $8000 additional per km of easement was truly a slap in the face for farmers, when we haven’t even had the discussion about what fair compensation looks like,” she said. “We need to solve that issue, whilst also looking to alternatives to build transmission towers over farms. Using existing easements and undergrounding powerlines must be explored.”

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