“Environmental piracy”

By Helen Tatchell

“You can’t save the environment by wrecking the environment,” was just one message that came out from three community meetings held last week.

It is a message that the Central Highlands Power Alliance (Stop AusNet Towers) are intent on making sure the state government Ministers are listening too.

The meetings were held in Bacchus Marsh, Ballan and Wallace with Australian actor and Bolwarrah landowner Stephen Curry, one of the speakers.

“It is a disgrace what is happening, and I can’t sit back and watch what is happening,” he said.

“This is environmental piracy. What is the price we have to pay? What is the trade-off?”

Mr Curry said the project is a man-made natural disaster.

“All in the name of sustainability.”

The purpose of the meetings was to inform the community about the campaign, the legal challenge, the EES process, land access, options and rights.

Myrniong landowner Emma Muir said they all fully support an urgent transition to renewable energy in a way that achieves the end goals.

“AEMO and AusNet’s current plans go directly against this. We all expect better,” she said.

“We are asking that the project needs to go back to AEMO, so one of the more environmentally, agriculturally, socially and economically responsible alternatives can be chosen.

“If it can’t be overhead, it must go underground,” she said.

Ms Muir said they must stay together as a community.

“We have a much better chance of being heard.

“There are two elections this year, don’t give up,” she said.

The group acknowledge climate change and the need for sustainable renewable energy however, “we should not pay the price so the people of Melbourne benefit”.

“This will result in mass devastation to our communities. The solution chosen, the cheapest solution, is the worst solution. There are other solutions,” she said.

Gavin Ronan is the Chair of the legal working group and told the meetings the Planning Minister Richard Wynne could also “kill the project”.

“We have to push him to introduce changes to the setbacks provisions. He has the power to approve or kill the project,” he said.

“There is another ten of these projects for Victoria following on from this one. The reason the easement is set to be 100 metres wide is not just for one tower as scheduled but, most likely to place many towers into the future.”

AusNet was the successful tenderer to deliver the infrastructure; a 190km high-voltage transmission line connecting Bulgana, near Ararat, to Sydenham, in Melbourne’s west.

To read the full story – Simply click on the following link

https://issuu.com/themooraboolnews/docs/mn_2022-03-08/1

in the 8 March 2022 edition
OR
pick up a paper around your town.