State politicians and candidates have once again been put on notice by the Stop Ausnet’s Tower group.
Protesters took to the streets of Hepburn on Saturday to oppose the overhead transmission line proposed for construction by AusNet in western Victoria.
A 1 kilometre long convoy of cars and farm machinery snaked its way from Hepburn Springs to Daylesford demanding leaders refuse approval of the 380 towers, which protestors say will have major impacts on farms and agriculture in Victoria’s “food bowl”.
Stop AusNet’s Towers spokeswoman Emma Muir says the 380 towers would carve a devastating path of destruction.
“The destructive 100-meterwide easement will dissect farms in Victoria’s food bowl impacting high-value agricultural land that feeds Victoria, see bushfire risk skyrocket in prone landscapes and wreak irreversible damage on the environment including protected state parks and native habitat as well as tourist areas” Muir said.
She added the personal impacts to residents are far reaching.
“If AusNet gets its way, this project will devastate our communities, land values will plummet and the amenity and liveability of our region and the wellbeing of residents will decline.”
The Western Renewables Link is a proposed electricity transmission line that will carry renewable energy from western Victoria to homes across the state and into the National Electricity Market.
The Stop AusNet group believes there is a better way to deliver the project that provides the same benefits for climate change without the environmental impacts.
