General News
9 July, 2023
Thin blue line blocks protest
Interruptions by protesters at the opening of Horsham's new $5 million Wimmera River improvements and water park by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese caught many by surprise. Also a surprise was the brief banging on a back wall of a marquee and a loud...
Interruptions by protesters at the opening of Horsham's new $5 million Wimmera River improvements and water park by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese caught many by surprise.
Also a surprise was the brief banging on a back wall of a marquee and a loud chorus shouting, "We want an inquiry". Inside the marquee the noise meant some speakers were briefly unable to be heard.
The banging sounded all the louder to people inside the marquee because the microphone had failed during a welcome speech by Horsham Rural City Mayor Robyn Gulline.
Outside, about 10 police officers stood in line facing the protesters, separating them from the large crowd which had gathered at the riverside nature and water park for their chance to catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister.
About 100 people from St Arnaud, Charlton and neighbouring districts waited, for the most part patiently, to put a call to the PM for an inquiry into a VNI West project planned from the coast through Victoria to the Murray River.
The VNI West project - the Victoria to NSW Interconnector West project - is a proposed 500kv double circuit transmission line which will connect high-voltage electricity grids in Victoria and New South Wales.
Some farmers in Central Victoria have been unable to learn the exact route chosen for the transmission lines - only that they will be within a 50-kilometre east-west path.
Cindy O'Sullivan of GreGre, who was among protesters, said there was much anxiety and fear because of the transmission plans.
Farmers believed the large towers would cause disturbance to farming operations, cause bio-security and fire risk and affect agri-technology.
Member for Mallee Anne Webster said a poor consultation process by Australian Energy Market Operator on changes to the Victoria-New South Wales Interconnector West had left Mallee communities with more questions and concerns than answers.
Earlier this year, under direction from the Victorian Government, AEMO had expedited progress on the overhead transmission lines connecting a Western Renewables Link at Bulgana near Stawell to NSW via a new terminal station near Kerang.
Ms Webster said farmers had been blindsided by the proposal, which was originally understood to be an upgrade to an existing 220kv line from Ballarat to Kerang via Bendigo.
"The new proposal will see infrastructure built on valuable farmland including irrigation districts," she said.