Frustration continues to build across regional Victoria as the Allan Labor Government pushes ahead with its Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) plans, dismissing the concerns of those who live and work in the areas most affected.
The Nationals’ Member for Lowan, Emma Kealy, said the Minister for Energy and Resources’ recent response to landholder feedback has only deepened the sense of disconnect between the government and regional communities.
“People are tired of spending hours preparing submissions, thinking the government will consider their views, only to see decisions made that completely disregard them,” Ms Kealy said.
“For Labor to invite feedback on its projects means nothing when that feedback is never acted on.”
Ms Kealy said communities within the proposed REZs had gone to great effort to share their views, with landowners detailing their concerns about the loss of productive farmland and biodiversity. Many have urged the government to de-prioritise or exclude certain locations altogether, identifying them as areas to avoid.
Yet Ms Kealy said that despite this feedback, the government proposed to allow projects to proceed outside the REZ boundaries, with VicGrid providing support through a new ‘Grid Impact Assessment’ process.
“What is the point of a REZ if renewable projects can be developed and approved outside of the zone?” she said.
“This is a deplorable and deceitful act by Labor and only further demonstrates the government’s contempt for rural and regional communities.
“Our local communities and farms are expected to host these large-scale energy projects to power Melbourne, all while our energy bills skyrocket, roads crumble and health services are centralised to the city. It’s disgraceful.”
Ms Kealy said the release of three VicGrid documents for public consultation — the draft Access and Connections Consultation Paper, the draft Grid Impact Assessment (GIA) Guidelines, and the draft Community Engagement and Social Value Guidelines — must represent a genuine turning point.
“Feedback must be clearly reflected in the final guidelines if the government wants to rebuild any trust with regional communities,” she said.
“Regional Victorians deserve genuine engagement, not token consultation, and the views of affected landholders must be respected.”
