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The Moorabool News – 30 November, 2021 Page 11
Money for towers questionable By Lachlan Ellis A protest group has claimed compensation offers for the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project (WVTNP) are “an insult to the people of Victoria” – but the planners say their figure isn’t quite right. Following the release of AusNet’s ‘A guide to living with transmission line easements’ earlier this month, community group Stop AusNet’s Towers released a statement accusing AusNet of “putting a price on our lives and livelihoods”. “The proposed compensation package for those impacted by the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project is an insult … AusNet’s wants to buy our community’s silence for $200,000 per 85m-high Photo: Helen Tatchell transmission tower,” Stop AusNet’s Towers’ spokesperson, Emma Muir, said. “It’s loose change for a $17 billion multinational and it doesn’t cover a fraction of the millions of dollars of loss landowners face – many for generations. Our community is not for sale. “The compensation plan is a PR stunt that attempts to divert people away from the devastating impacts of the project.” While AusNet did not respond directly to Ms Muir’s claims that the company was trying to “buy our community’s silence”, it did say the figure was not necessarily $200,000 per tower. “The exact amount of the total package and the amount each landholder will receive will not be known until the end of the negotiation with landholders. Landholders will be compensated on a case-by-case basis, depending on the value of their land, and any impact on their existing business or operations,” a WVTNP spokesperson told the Moorabool News. “Initial high-level estimates indicate total compensation will be more than $50M across the project.”
Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, The outpouring of anger at the Premier’s latest pandemic power grab speaks volumes. I’ve been inundated by thousands of distressed Victorians outraged at new legislation Daniel Andrews recently rammed through the Labor-controlled lower house of State Parliament. The legislation – if passed by the upper house – will give the Victorian Premier of the day the power to control the lives and livelihoods of all Victorians. This Bill allows the Premier to make a statewide pandemic declaration with the power to suspend people’s rights – even when there’s no trace of disease in our state. Labor’s Bill has no mechanism for the Parliament to have any oversight of the government’s decisions. When one of the state’s top lawyers says the “Stasi police would have been more than happy with the range of powers” this Bill confers, all Victorians should be worried. The Nationals vehemently opposed the Andrews Government’s Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021 when it was voted on last week. There’s some good news: the Bill is yet to go before the upper house, so it’s not too late to have your say. I’m urging all regional Victorians to speak up against the Premier’s power grab by visiting www.laborspowergrab. com.au This is not about whether you like or dislike Daniel Andrews. It’s about the unlimited power handed to just one individual with no checks or balances. Peter Walsh Leader of The Nationals
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* Correct as at November 2021. Subject to terms and conditions.