THE Victorian Farmers Federation says the Essential Services Commission’s decision to grant Transmission Company Victoria an electricity transmission licence must not allow it to “steamroll landholders in the path of planned renewable energy projects”.
Amongst a raft of new powers, the licence enables TCV workers to legally enter farms and carry out preparatory works for the VNI West powerline without the need to obtain landholder consent.
VFF president and Quambatook farmer Brett Hosking, whose own land will be impacted by VNI West, said landholders and farmers have reacted with trepidation to the announcement, and added TCV had a duty to act respectfully and in good faith with impacted landholders and communities.
“TCV’s newly-minted electricity transmission licence doesn’t trump their social licence obligations,” Mr Hosking said.
“There is a genuine sense of uneasiness around this decision and it boils down to a deplorable track record when it comes to these companies treating landholders and communities with respect.
“We absolutely cannot lose focus that those impacted are generational farming families and not soft targets for compulsory access.
“These people are the glue of our regional communities and they deserve to be treated with dignity.
“I have conveyed the VFF’s views strongly to TCV and we will be keeping an eagle eye out for any conduct that oversteps the line.
“The VFF is continuing to call on the Victorian Government to pause the VNI West project immediately until they get the community and landholder engagement right.
“We can’t stand idle and watch as prime agriculture land is irreversibly destroyed without consideration to the agriculture industry and the farming livelihoods at stake.
“Once destroyed, these landscapes can never be restored.”
In its submission to ESC for the licence, TCV said it understood that impacts to the environment, agriculture and the community more broadly “are top of mind for many landholders and community members”.
It also acknowledged the feedback received from stakeholders on the approach to engagement in the earlier stages of planning for VNI West.
“We have heard and understand that communities and landholders were not provided with the information they needed to understand the project and its likely impacts, and that the project’s engagement approach fell short of expectations,” the submission said.
“In retrospect, we recognise our approach could have been better tailored to the needs of our local audiences.
“We know from observing peers in the transmission market across Australia and internationally that there is great expectation to shift the way communities are engaged in relation to transmission infrastructure development, and the energy transition more broadly.
“Throughout the VNI West project corridor, sentiment ranges from highly opposed through to supportive.
“We understand the varying views of community members and landholders need to be considered in their entirety.
“Our approach aims to engage all those impacted by the project on an individual level, considering their unique concerns or views.
“We aspire to engage all groups meaningfully and in a way that provides the information and level of detail they are seeking – not simply to placate opposition or amplify areas of support.”
The ESC said the nine-week consultation process, that included a combination of public webinars and an in-person public information session, resulted in more than 100 submissions.
“We appreciate the time and effort people took to make a submission on TCV’s licence application and the concerns raised through the process,” a statement said.
“Submissions were informative and addressed a wide range of important topics that we carefully considered within our assessment criteria.
“We agreed that some of the issues raised needed to be addressed, which we have done by placing several conditions on the licence.”
These included stronger visibility of the use of land access powers; advance notification for any future sale or change of ownership of TCV, and requirements for TCV to have its technical capacity assessed prior to transmitting electricity.
The licence introduced enforceable rules that TCV must comply with, including how and when it provides information to landowners and when it engages with them.
“The LACoP also requires transmission companies to be open, honest and respectful in their communication with landowners,” the statement said.
