THE State Government’s new Victorian Transmission Plan looks more like a roadmap for developers than a fair deal for regional communities, said Victorian Farmers’ Federation president Brett Hosking. 
Mr Hosking said many farmers believed in deep, economy-wide emission cuts and the industry had already made huge steps forward, but the way the Government was going about its plans was leaving families in the regions facing an uncertain future.   
“This plan has been sold as a way to keep the lights on, but it still leaves farmers in the dark. The Government has redrawn the renewable energy zones to suit developers, yet we still don’t know how much power will actually be built, what protections farmers will get, or what benefits will flow back into local communities,”  he said. “We keep seeing the see-sawing cost of these projects and you must wonder where it will end. 
“How is a plan a plan if it fails to outline even the basic details of how much it will cost?” 
“The plan shows that renewables in the new zones could either double what’s in the ground now, or grow by more than ten times by 2040. But the Government admits it hasn’t set any firm limits. 
“That means a farming family can wake up and find themselves mapped into a zone, but have no idea whether they’ll see a few turbines or a wall of projects built around them,” Mr Hosking said. 
The zones now cover nearly two million hectares of farmland, yet the rules on compensation, community benefits and fair consultation are still missing. 
“Right now, developers are getting the green light, while farmers are told to sit tight and that’s completely unacceptable. “If you want a fast and fair transition, you’ve got to bring communities with you and not just bulldoze past with a plan to have a plan.
“The Government is forgetting that in the path of these mega-projects are generational farming families, utilising some of the most productive farmland in the country. They matter and we won’t let the government forget that,” Mr Hosking said.    
Mr Hosking said the VFF’s message was simple: the government needs to stop leaving farmers guessing and be transparent. 
“Farmers can work with change. But we won’t cop being treated as second-class citizens on our own land. 
If the government wants to get this transition done, it needs to put communities at the centre, not at the end of the queue,” Mr Hosking said.