General News
17 September, 2025
VFF slams VicGrid Bill
The Victorian Federation has slammed VicGrid's Bill that paves the way for police-backed powers to force entry onto agricultural land for the construction of the VNI-West transmission line.
Protesting landowners have continued to wage their war on rights to protect agricultural land from the government's renewables push, questioning if the government's action contravenes the Paris Agreement established in 2015, which states, "Taking over farm land to produce intermittent energy is a violation of Article 2, Section 1 (b) of the Paris Agreement 2015.
It also states that in relation to greenhouse gas emission development, it should be done "...in a manner that doesn't threaten food production."
Angry landholders gathered in protest on tractors, utes, fire trucks, and on foot at the Bush Summit in Ballarat on Friday, August 29, attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Premier Jacinta Allen, and Opposition Leader Susan Ley, voicing their disgust at the government's midnight decision.
Fines aimed at landholders of more than $12,000 were reduced in the late Thursday night passing of the Bill, but entry to private property by reasonable force remained.
VFF President Brett Hosking said the legislation risks further eroding trust at a time when cooperation is desperately needed to deliver the energy transition.
"This Bill hands VicGrid coercive powers over landholders, while ignoring the need for genuine engagement, fair compensation, and investment in rural communities," he said.
"Farmers aren't standing in the way of renewables, but we refuse to be trampled over in the process. Right now, the legislation locks in a system where rural Victoria carries the burden, while the benefits are shipped off elsewhere."
Mr Hosking added amendments to the Bill, which halve some of the fines, but will do little to calm community sentiment.
"The reduction in fines is cold comfort given they never should have been part of this Bill in the first place," he said.
Mr Hosking noted that MPs from across the political spectrum admitted during debate that transmission engagement to date has failed communities.
"When politicians from all sides agree that engagement has been a failure, it shows just how badly the process has gone off track," he said.
"The government cannot ignore that warning; it must reset and rebuild trust before any more projects proceed."
The VFF has repeatedly warned that without reform, Victoria risked repeating the failures of past transmission projects such as the Western Renewables Link, which has lost the trust of local communities.
In a last-minute bid this week, Mr Hosking wrote to Victorian MPs again, urging them to halt the Bill ahead of its debate in State Parliament on Thursday, but failed in his attempt to stop the Bill progressing through parliament.
"Handing police powers to enforce access and threatening farmers with fines for protecting their own land doesn't build trust, it shows exactly why trust has been lost," he said.
"If Victoria is to make serious, economy-wide reductions to our emissions, then we need to partner with each other to achieve this, particularly our farmers who are being asked to carry most of the burden of this change."
Mr Hosking said the government's approach to pushing ahead with major transmission projects, such as the Western Renewables Link (WRL) and the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West (VNI West), without genuine consultation was eroding community confidence and jeopardising the projects themselves.
"The WRL and VNI West have failed from the start and should be abandoned," he said.
"They've been poorly managed, and communities have made it clear they won't accept transmission lines being forced across their farms.
"These projects are too important to ram through. By taking this approach, the government risks derailing the renewable transition.
"The only way forward is to admit mistakes and start again."