PEOPLE power spoke again in Canberra this week, just as our democracy supports.
Mallee farmers whose communities and livelihoods are being threatened by the VNI West project joined others from up and down the eastern seaboard to protest the Albanese Labor government’s reckless rush to renewables.
I was happy to facilitate meetings for a Mallee delegation with key politicians, including the Energy Minister Chris Bowen, while the group was at Parliament House.
Thank you to the Mallee residents who made the long journey.
I spoke at the rally about the critical need for social licence and how the concept is being ignored by VNI West’s proponents as they forge ahead to meet Labor’s risky renewable energy targets – 82 per cent by 2030.
The lack of social licence was confirmed by Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner Andrew Dyer’s recent report into community engagement on renewable energy projects.
Mr Dyer’s report found 92 per cent of respondents were dissatisfied with the level of engagement.
This is no surprise.
Farmers in the VNI West firing line have been frustrated – to put it mildly – by the poor consultation by the Australian Energy Market Operator and its shell company Transmission Company Victoria.
Unfortunately, Mr Dyer’s report failed to give concrete solutions, hence why it was so important this week farmers made their voices heard by the policymakers.
We cannot sit silently on our hands.
Australia’s prime agricultural land and pristine native bushland in Mallee and all other regions must be protected.
The nation’s food and fibre production depend on our crops and farms, which cannot operate as they have always done with these renewables projects railroaded right through them.
I will always stand up for farmers and their communities, whether it be against reckless renewables, fuel-efficiency standards that ignore the practical reality for Mallee farmers and families, or against farmers being slapped with a biosecurity levy for the risk imposed by their international competitors.
