AUSTRALIA has always been the land of the fair go.
This is the message I brought to the State Parliament steps with Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud to join hundreds of farmers and scores of tractors and prime movers from western Victoria in a protest at Parliament House against Labor’s reckless transmission line plans.
I have stood with these farmers along the way and suggested they take their plight to the steps of Parliament House so those in Spring Street would be forced to listen.
The railroading of the transmission projects on pristine bushland and prime agricultural land without consent is not giving regional Australians a fair go.
Mallee agriculture contributes $9 billion to our GDP and farmers should be respected, but instead we have Labor government at State and Federal level dismissing their rights.
The pittance of compensation devalues what is at stake for Mallee producers – many of whom are sixth or seventh generation.
Federal Labor Energy Minister Chris Bowen has paid lip service to concerns about social licence for transmission line projects such as VNI West and the Western Renewables Link.
Farmers and their communities are paying the current cost, and it will be family budgets that will be stretched by inflated power bills to pay for new infrastructure.
The government and the Australian Energy Market Operator, as well as Transmission Company Victoria and other organisations such as Transgrid and Ausnet, need to be transparent and own the inefficiencies in Option 5A and find a better solution.
It was arrogant and wrong for Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio to use ministerial orders to enable AEMO to ram Option 5A of VNI West through Mallee farms with no right of appeal.
Mallee is not the Wild West where those in power can ride roughshod over the region. We are not a dumping ground for bad policy.
Our farmers and our communities deserve better.
