Transmission Company Victoria (TCV) would like to provide an update on the recent community information sessions held across the VNI West transmission project area and the outcomes of this engagement.

Close to 400 farmers, landholders and community members attended the open events at Boort, Kerang, Charlton, Navarre and St Arnaud to ask questions, share their views, and share how they live and work on the land.

This latest round of events was well attended and provided a valuable opportunity to listen, learn, answer questions and provide the community with details on the next steps for the project.

We also saw significant engagement from communities in previous months through our online interactive map. The map provides the opportunity for community members to add comments noting elements for consideration in the ongoing planning process, such as sites of local and social significance and environmental and agricultural constraints.

Community events

A number of key questions and common themes were raised during our community information sessions including:

Route refinement
Questions about the route refinement process, including Traditional Owner Engagement and the work to identify constraints.

Policy and regulation
Feedback and questions about Australia’s Climate Change policy and science.

Consultation
Feedback on the event format and alternatives for future consultation.

Alternative options
Feedback about alternative options to new transmission infrastructure such as nuclear energy.

Landholder impacts
Feedback on the landholder engagement process including access to properties and compensation. There were also many questions about farming with transmission and fire risk.

Whole of community impacts and benefits
Feedback related to the community-wide impact of VNI West, such as visual amenity and bushfire risk. Concerns were also raised about the future development of renewables and transmission.

Lack of trust and transparency
Questions about the RIT-T process, the NEVA Orders and concerns in relation to transparency.

A detailed report on the outcomes of engagement from events will be published in coming weeks on our website.

Interactive map

So far, the interactive map has received 1844 comments from 152 participants.

Comments have identified numerous key constraints, which have assisted with route refinement. Examples include:

• Areas prone to flooding
• Habitats for endangered species
• Areas of remnant vegetation
• Existing and planned infrastructure
• Sites of Aboriginal significance
• Important agricultural considerations and areas of irrigation

Constraints identified by community members through the interactive map are carefully monitored and analysed by TCV to ensure these insights feed into the route refinement process.

Key constraints identified by community members have provided valuable local insights to support the work to determine the most suitable location for transmission infrastructure.

The interactive map will remain open until 5pm Wednesday 2 August. After this date comments provided by community members will remain available for public view.

Landholder engagement update

TCV will soon be in a position to start contacting the landholders who may be directly impacted by the transmission lines. This is an important milestone and will allow us to have conversations with landholders to understand and directly address their issues and questions.

A dedicated Landholder Liaison will be appointed as the primary contact for each landholder in the corridor.

If a property is determined to be in the preferred corridor for VNI West, TCV will attempt to make contact with the landholder before the transmission corridor is announced publicly. Initial contact will be by phone, followed by email and a mailed letter. Indicative timings are below.

• TCV has determined a preferred corridor for VNI West north of Kerang and in nearby surrounding areas. Work continues in the central and southern section to identify the best location for a preferred corridor.
• TCV will begin landholder engagement in the north, around Kerang and nearby surrounding areas from early August. Engagement with landholders in the central and southern areas is planned to start from late August once a corridor has been identified.
• TCV will release the entire preferred corridor from Kerang to Bulgana publicly in early September once all efforts have been made to contact impacted landholders, including a letter to farmers and property owners in the corridor.

The Landholder Liaison will work with landowners to discuss land access, compensation and benefits and to understand how TCV can reduce the impact to farming operations and the environment.

Have your say

TCV recognises the important role the community plays in the planning and delivery of transmission projects, and we are committed to working with the community to help us shape the best possible outcome.

In the coming months, TCV will continue engaging with the community through in person and online events. Details of the events will be publicised once confirmed.

Expressions of Interest for the Community Reference Group (CRG) remain open. It is expected this group will commence engagement in the coming months. The CRG will provide a forum for community members to collaborate with the VNI West project team through the planning and approvals process for this essential infrastructure project and identify opportunities for community benefits sharing.

TCV would like to shape the format and scope of the CRG with its members and as such the Terms of Reference will be workshopped in the first meeting.

For more information and to apply, please visit the TCV website.

In addition to broader community engagement, TCV continues to engage regularly with key local stakeholder such as councils. Traditional Owner engagement is also ongoing and forms an integral component of our engagement program.

How feedback will be considered and next steps

Feedback generated from the events, via the interactive map and through stakeholder workshops will be used to help inform the route refinement process and shape future engagement planning.

TCV will publish a Route Refinement Report in September, which will announce the preferred corridor selected for VNI West. This will be advised through a project update, featured on the TCV website, in newspapers and on social media.

Key considerations and a description of how feedback has influenced the process will be included in the report.

Get in touch

If you have a question you would like to ask, please get in contact through the details below.

Email: enquiries@transmissionvictoria.com.au

Free call: 1800 824 221

Website: transmissionvictoria.com.au

Kerang Office: Shop 15, 47 Victoria Street, Patchell Plaza, Kerang.
Open 12pm to 4:30pm on Tuesdays and 9am to 1pm on Wednesdays.