Farmers and landholders again protest outside transmission line meeting

This time, farmers parked tractors and equipment, painted with slogans, outside an information session at Charlton on Wednesday.

Ausnet has previously cancelled community information sessions about VNI West due to protests.

Protestor Glendan Watts, Charlton, said about 80 farmers and landholders turned up at the session as "they have had enough, it's just got to stop, basically".

"We parked our machinery in the street, about 10am, we wanted all the equipment and machinery to be there when Transmission Company Victoria (TCV) arrived to make sure they saw it and make them realise this has gone on long enough," he said.

'The towers are not really needed."

He said the material presented at the drop-in session was "just the same rubbish".

"There were a lot of angry farmers in there because they are getting different responses - you ask the same question to three or four different liaison people and you get different responses," he said.

Victorian farmers claim they have been ignored as the state government fast tracks development of the controversial power transmission network, needed to meet its renewable energy targets.

They want the lines placed underground, to minimise the risk from bushfires.

He said TCV project director Sam Magee continued to claim the CFA could fight fires, under the proposed transmission lines, something which the authority had rejected.

Mr Watts said he was offered the chance to speak with senior Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) executives but did not meet with satisfaction.

"I said 'I think you have done your dash, it's been 12 months that you have been in the community, the lies are still flowing, the information is not coming through, you guys don't seem to listen'," he said.

"People are just getting so hurt and so frustrated - they come to the community, they don't listen, they don't answer our questions and wonder why we are getting annoyed with the process."

He said those who attended the protest were initially reluctant to take part in the session but eventually did go inside.

"We are going to continue to escalate it, until we get heard, that's all we have left - we don't have a legal aspect any more," he said.

"We have to take it back to basics, take our equipment to town, and just show them we are not going to take it.

"We have been to Canberra (federal parliament), we have been to Spring Street (Victorian parliament), it's not fine to compulsorily acquire our land."

Mr Magee said more than 100 landholders and community members 'dropped in' to TCV's community information sessions this week for one-on-one discussions on all aspects of the VNI West project.

Held in Kerang, Charlton and Stawell, this week's informal sessions were a direct response to community requests for greater access to environmental, agricultural and technical specialists.

TCV had held 30 community information sessions, along the draft corridor, hearing from more than 1300 community members, he said.

"We want to hear from all stakeholders across the draft corridor to determine the best outcomes for landholders and local communities as we refine the route for the new transmission line," Mr Magee said.

"We recognise that there are genuine concerns about the potential impacts of VNI West, and we appreciated the opportunity to speak to local people directly at the drop-in sessions."

He said at the events, TCV received valuable insights from landholders through an interactive digital map where they were able to zoom in on their property and highlight sensitivities and individual details of their land.

"TCV is committed to genuine consultation with communities across the draft corridor, sharing information and answering questions," he said.

"TCV is currently working to narrow the draft corridor for the VNI West project from around two kilometres down to a preferred easement of about 100 metres wide in the third quarter of this year."