Thank you for attending the community drop-in sessions
Thank you to everyone who attended one of the ten community information sessions held across western Victoria last month and to those who have provided feedback on the interactive map on our website. Your feedback is important and will be used to shape the next steps of the project.
A detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions are being prepared, following questions raised at the community drop-in sessions and we will share them with you shortly. In the meantime, we wanted to note the key issues raised and reassure you that every comment made, every pin dropped on the project map, and every feedback form completed is being carefully considered by the project team.
There will be further opportunities for community feedback as we work through the Environment Effects Statement process.
Key issues raised:
- Impacts on highly productive and profitable agricultural land
- Lack of clarity about the types of farm machinery that can be used on an easement and under transmission lines
- Lack of information about compensation
- Visual impacts
- Undergrounding all or part of the transmission line
- Increased bushfire risk
- The status and relevance of the AusNet Services ‘A Guide to living with Transmission Line Easements’
- Health and mental health impacts
- Impact on wildlife
- Interference with GPS, internet/TV/phone reception.
By mid-year we will determine and publish a single corridor for the proposed transmission line. All landowners within the single corridor will then be contacted by our team to discuss the impact on their property.
The interactive map, seeking feedback on the corridor options will close on Friday 30 April. The information collected will be added to the information the community provided last year. We will feed this information into the technical investigations and our assessment of the corridor options, to help identify a single corridor. If you haven’t already commented or dropped a pin, we want to hear from you.
AusNet Services acknowledges the uncertainty and concern a project of this scale may cause, particularly for potentially affected landowners and communities. We have engaged an independent and confidential counselling service to provide support to community members and we strongly encourage people to use this service. To find out more, please contact Benestar directly on 1300 360 364.
To learn more about the project or to contact the project team, please visit westernrenewableslink.com.au, call 03 9021 0674 or email info@westernrenewableslink.com.au