Transmission powerline compo: Victoria to pay landholders $200,000 a kilometre

Growers say proposed government compensation is not enough to offset the impact of massive pylons and powerlines being strung across their land.

Potato growers say proposed government compensation is not enough to offset the impact of massive 60m pylons and 500kV powerlines being strung across their land.

The Victorian Government has followed NSW’s lead in offering landholders $200,000 for every kilometre of new transmission lines built across their properties.

The payments will be made in annual instalments of $8000 over 25 years, and are on top of the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act payments that cover the market value of the land.

Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the first payments would roll out to landholders who hosted the yet-to-be-built, 190km Western Renewables Link, from Sydenham near Melbourne to Bulgana.

NSW and Victorian landholders along the VNI West link will also receive $200,000/km payments from their respective governments, along a 400km route from Bulgana to the southern NSW EnergyConnect line at Dinawan, which was announced as the preferred option yesterday.

The minister’s office stated the payments would ensure an equitable approach for projects across the Victorian-NSW border, as well as other major projects including the Victoria-Tasmania Marinus Link project and transmission links connecting Victoria’s Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) and future offshore wind projects.

But Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano said the payment was nowhere near enough to offset the long term impact on landholders.

“It’s an arbitrary number that’s not enough to mean anything,” Ms Germano said. “The impact has to be assessed commercially, on production.”

‘Stop AusNet's Towers’ rally at Victoria’s state parliament on March 8, 2022. Picture: Supplied

Landholders along the Western Renewables Link have been running a drawn-out campaign against the construction of massive 60-metre pylons, carrying 500 kilovolt double-circuit overhead transmission lines across their land.

Tourello potato farmer Katherine Myers said the payments might be fantastic for a Mallee farmer where a 500-metre easement had relatively little impact on their productivity.

“But if you have a small property with a 500-metre easement and it stops you growing potatoes across 100 acres (40ha), it (the compensation) is nowhere near enough,” Ms Myers said.

The cost of compensating landholders along the WRL and VNI West links adds up to about $118 million across both states over 20 to 25 years.

In contrast, the Victorian Government collects $190m in land tax from transmission line operator AusNet.

The latest compensation offer is being made as both the Victorian and NSW governments rush to extend and expand the capacity of the transmission network to funnel wind and solar renewable electricity into coastal capitals ahead of the early retirement of coal-fired power plants.

Ms D’Ambrosio’s office stated: “Victoria’s ageing coal-fired power stations retire and are replaced by renewables, the network needs to be updated to connect new renewable generation and deliver cleaner, cheaper power to homes and businesses.”

The Victorian Government has also released a consultation report for a proposed approach to planning and developing new network infrastructure, the Victorian Transmission Investment Framework.

Her office said it was “designed to give Traditional Owners, local communities and key stakeholders a real voice in the development of new infrastructure so that impacts can be better managed and benefits can be realised”.

The new report summarises feedback received through a six-week process conducted with regional communities, stakeholders and industry representatives, which will be a key input into decision-making on the proposed reforms.