Net zero up for review and interests of farmers a priority, says Brad Battin

The Allan government is preparing to introduce renewable energy legislation that could see farmers fined as much as $12,000 for refusing to allow public officials on to their land.

Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin. Picture: NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

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Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin has signalled the state ­Coalition’s policy on net zero is up for review, with the needs of farmers and local communities impact­ed by large-scale renewables projects set to be prioritised.

The Liberal leader’s comments come as the Allan government prepares to introduce legislation that could see farmers fined as much as $12,000 for refusing to allow public officials on to their land.

Less than 18 months out from the November 2026 state election, Mr Battin refused to say when he expected to announce the ­Coalition’s energy policy, and would not be drawn on a private member’s bill being put forward by Barnaby Joyce to repeal the federal government’s net-zero target.

The state opposition’s website currently details the policy announced by then opposition leader Matthew Guy ahead of the 2022 election, which included legislating the government’s emissions reduction target of 50 per cent by 2030 – something not even Labor had committed to do.

Asked whether that commitment was up for review, Mr Battin said: “All of our policies from 2022 are up for discussion.”

“The result from the election highlighted the fact that we need to go back and review those, and we’ll be reviewing them.

“But the most important thing right at the moment, we’re talking about net zero and environment impact, is one of the conditions at the moment the government’s trying to force through, where they can go through and bulldoze through private properties, through farmers’ properties and communities, to deliver on the infrastructure they’re trying to put in place for the net zero they’re targeting at the moment.

“We’ll have a focus to make sure farmers and communities are protected.”

Victorian Energy and Resources Minister Lily D'Ambrosio. Picture: NewsWire / Nadir Kinani

Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio in June announced that the government would legislate to “further strengthen VicGrid as the body responsible for the planning and development of Renewable Energy Zones and transmission infrastructure in Vic­toria”, with a bill dubbed the “National Electricity Victoria Amendment, Stage Two VicGrid Bill”.

Under the legislation, landholders caught “hindering, obstructing or delaying authorised activity” on their own land face fines of up to $12,210.

Farmers are expected to rally against the proposed legislation outside state parliament next Wednesday, amid concerns it will be used to gain access to properties impacted by the proposed VNI west transmission line in Victoria’s northwest.

Opposition energy spokesman David Davis said the new legislation amounted to a “serious overreach … The government has in a draconian and authoritarian way overreached through the introduction of these planned new penalties”.

“These are new laws, on top of existing powers, that allow the imposition of fines of more than $12,000 for each individual offence and up to $48,000 for corporates,” he said.

“This will give the citycentric Victorian government powers to cut locks, to move farmers and their equipment from their land.”

Victorian opposition energy spokesman David Davis. Picture: NewsWire / Daniel Pockett

The new legislation comes after the Allan government last year opted to accelerate the planning approval process for renewable energy projects, in a move that concentrates power in the hands of the planning minister, removing the requirement for applications to go before a planning panel, and blocking third-party ­appeals to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Mr Battin said Mr Joyce’s private member’s bill was “totally a federal issue”.

“They can do whatever they like up there, but down here, my focus isn’t that,” he said, detailing policies related to childcare and crime.

Asked multiple times when the public could expect him to unveil his policy on net zero, Mr Battin refused to commit to a timeline other than to say it would be between now and the November 2026 election.