I am overjoyed that the Victorian Liberal-Nationals Coalition this week declared it would scrap the VNI West transmission project if elected to government in November.

In 2023 I started airing farmers and communities’ very serious concerns that AEMO (as VicGrid was then called) had done a shocking job seeking social licence.  Social licence is the local permission from a community for government to proceed with a project because the community wants, or genuinely accepts, the project.  A major factor in social licence is that local landowners are being treated with respect.

In 2023 I said VicGrid’s consultation with communities was tokenistic, and the Andrews-Allan-Carroll Victorian Labor governments have created draconian powers, taken landowners’ appeal rights away, sidelined shires, overlooked relevant environmental and planning considerations and fined farmers because they object to trespass on their land, risking biosecurity breaches.

That’s why I say Labor’s approach to the Victoria-NSW Interconnector West (VNI West) and their Renewable Energy Zones is a reckless railroading of communities.

I stood with farmers at protests at St Arnaud, Horsham (when the PM was in town), Charlton, Spring St and Canberra Parliament House - and Ballarat when the PM was chased out of town by tractors.  I have regularly called for VNI West to be stopped.  I brought Leader of The Nationals Matt Canavan to St Arnaud earlier this year, where he declared The Nationals in federal government would not fund VNI West.  VNI West relies on the Albanese Labor’s destructive ‘Rewiring the Nation’ fund, which Angus Taylor has committed to axing.

Matt Canavan’s pledge matches the Bill I wrote, and he tabled, the Prime Agricultural Land Protection Bill.  The bill would block federal funding for any project that diminishes our prime farming land.

The Nationals for Regional Victoria - with the Victorian Liberals - have backed in the federal Nationals’ opposition to VNI West, and are taking similar steps to protect prime ag land.

I will always fight for our farmers and landowners when they are treated with disrespect by governments or companies that think landowners can be pushed out of their way. Not on my watch.