More time to finesse response to Ausnet EES

Published on 08 April 2022

Transmission Lines at sunset

Hepburn Shire Council has welcomed the announcement by AusNet this week that it intends to invest more time in carrying out consultation with landholders and the community on the proposed route for overhead transmission lines and terminal station proposed as part of the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project.

In a statement this week, AusNet advised the expected release date of its Environmental Effects Statement (EES) would be pushed out from mid-2022 to late-2022.

Council is strongly opposed to the proposed route and 24ha terminal station in the Shire, which is planned to be located on some of the highest value agriculture land in the country.

“The good news for our community overall is that gives people more time to work out how they will respond to the EES once it is released for community feedback, however the uncertainty of the project and route will now be extended” said Mayor, Cr Tim Drylie.

“We are extremely disappointed at the historical lack of transparency and poor community consultation with this project. We hope an extension of time for the release of an EES means AusNet will use this time to listen to the community, consult properly with affected landholders and make significant changes to this project, including changing the route or placing the transmission lines underground,” said Cr Drylie.

“While Council is highly supportive of renewable energy, we are strongly opposed to the above ground transmission lines and the route proposed. As it stands, the project will have a significant impact on valuable agricultural land, significant landscapes and tourism, and we are already seeing the toll it is taking on the health and wellbeing of local residents.

“Council staff have been out and about speaking with the community about the project over the last few months. We have resources on our website to help people to write a submission in response to the EES once it is released. We encourage you to visit our Participate Hepburn at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/WVTNP to learn more.”