Victorian Farmers Federation members will next week vote on a call to stop, or slow, the construction of the contentious VNI West transmission project.
Two resolutions on the project will be put to members at the VFF's annual conference, being held at the MCG on Monday and Tuesday.
Now, farmers in the St Arnaud area have put up conference resolutions calling for the rejection of the transmission line, on the grounds that it doesn't link to regional grids.
"It will therefore provide no benefit to farms, industries and communities," the first resolution reads.
"Country communities are expected to carry the environmental and agricultural damage to our land from this infrastructure and yet gain no advantage in electricity supply for our towns and industries.
"Government is building entirely separate transmission networks that enable large multi-national companies to secure access to the national grid for renewable projects.
"This access is created by means of exploiting the agricultural sector, without our consent and minimal consultation."
Victorian farmers claim they have been ignored again as the state government fast tracks development of the controversial power transmission network.
The mover of the resolution, Gooroc grain grower Gerald Feeney said he hoped to raise awareness among VFF members the transmission lines were just the start of a process of putting wind and solar farms all over the state.
"These transmission lines are really only the start of a spiderweb of lines stretching out from what are private projects," he said.
"These projects are being approved by the state government, local government has no ability to stop them."
He said the pressure to put in renewables was overriding farmers, communities and local government.
"We are a group to be pushed aside and ignored - we are told last and expected to comply first," he said.
It comes as the controversy over powerlines has been blamed for causing a city and country divide.
St Arnaud mixed farmer Barry Batters has also moved a resolution, rejecting the fast-tracking of the VNI West project, until the government provided assurances "that serious issues concerning insurance liability and fire safety are addressed and farmers will not be left exposed to physical, financial and legal risk."
Mr Batter said there was no clear indication farmers could not be found liable for incidents resulting in injury or damage, as a result of works conducted on their land during construction.
The powerlines and easements they ran along also presented a real obstacle to effective fire-fighting in the district, he said.
"The VNI-West will present a no-go zone along the easement as we will not be able to deploy ground units or aerial support once a fire is under, or near, the transmission line," the resolution read.
"The documented danger of electrocution from heavy smoke, leading to shorts going to ground is an unacceptable risk for volunteer CFA crew."
He said there was still "a lot of work" to be done when it came to insurance.
"We have to indicate to people who come onto the property exactly what problems could arise - there could be a sinkhole, or a channel that's been filled in and the crossing is left and covered over, but the hole is still there
"If we don't indicate every single thing, and where issues could arise and an accident occurs, where's our insurance."
He said farmers were not prepared to take the risk.
"You can't take any risk, there is so much litigation and so much to lose - there's so much at stake," he said.
Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
