Gippsland farmers affected by transmission line 'disaster' offer solution

The campaign group Better Transmission Gippsland insists that the proposed overhead power lines to connect offshore wind farms must instead go underground.

Some 300 landowners from Wellington Shire to Latrobe Shire are set to be affected by the recent scrapping of Aus Net's latest plans, which had undergone consultation.

The Nationals Member for Gippsland South Danny O'Brien said the State Government's decision to push aside the AusNet plans created "more uncertainty for the local community".

"This is going to be a difficult issue no matter how it is planned, but I'm disappointed that the Government is persisting with an overhead transmission line and will not consider going underground," he said.

Mr O'Brien also suggested that the move away from the current AusNet plans would affect the renewable energy project's timeline for completion.

Regardless of the change from one overhead route to another overhead route, Better Transmission Gippsland chair and beef farmer Kirra Bott, Giffard, said the group would persist with its calls for the lines to go underground.

She was adamant that those affected were not aiming for protest or blockades.

"We want this to happen but we want it to happen in a way our community can accept," she said.

"We're not trying to protest or blockade.

"We do have a better solution and we really need them to listen to it."

Ms Bott, who's own farm was set to be affected, said her parents and sister also held land in the path of the overhead transmission lines.

In calling for underground lines to be used instead, she referenced a study released in November 2023 by Curtin University, Perth, and Queensland University, which showed that less energy is lost from underground lines, and that long-term, the option is more cost effective than overheard proposals.

Ms Bott said teams from VicGrid should be "up to date" with this research.

She said they must "consider each transmission individually".

"In Gippsland, we already have other lines underground," she said.

"There's five really solid examples which show we're unique."

The Giffard farmer highlighted Gippsland's natural beauty and warned overhead lines would ruin the region's tourism potential.

Most of all, she was adamant that those involved in the Better Transmission Gippsland campaign were not against renewable energy.

"Wanting underground is a solution, not a protest," she said.

"Post construction, bar a few checkpoints, you barely know it's there.

"Whereas with overhead, it's there for your lifetime."

She said the vast majority of affected landowners would be "more than happy" to facilitate the construction of underground lines and called on VicGrid and the Victorian government to step up and engage.

Maree Howard, Stradbroke, another affected farmer and committee member of the Better Transmission Gippsland group, shared Ms Bott's perspective.

While the overhead lines were not proposed to go through her property, she said they would be neighbouring it.

Ms Howard said the current proposals were "very narrow-sighted" by VicGrid.

"It's very narrow-sighted that it's not going underground," she said.

She said constructing underground lines did not cost as much as VicGrid were portraying to landowners and also urged them to consider the long-term cost effectiveness of the option.

"We want someone to do a comparison of the long term costs but they won't give us that," she said.

Ms Howard said there was much less maintenance on underground lines and that overhead pylons and wires were a fire risk.

"If a fire went through, we'd be in serious trouble," she said of the area's prime forestry.

She also insisted the community was not against renewable energy.

"We're saying you can start tomorrow, dig on our land but just put it underground," she said.

Ms Howard said the campaign for underground was also driven by generational concerns for her own children and grandchildren and said this must be taken into account.