Politics & Council
3 November, 2023
Watts raises firefighting concerns
VNI West protester Glenden Watts has questioned claims by the project’s Victorian manager that the transmission will not hinder volunteer firefighters. “Aircraft won’t be able to help as 540kV of electricity does not discriminate when there is...
VNI West protester Glenden Watts has questioned claims by the project’s Victorian manager that the transmission will not hinder volunteer firefighters.
“Aircraft won’t be able to help as 540kV of electricity does not discriminate when there is smoke in the air as smoke is an extremely good conductor of electricity and the lines will arc and flashover will occur,” Mr Watts has told the Loddon Herald.
He said volunteers could not control where they fight fires and feared a future disaster would see a Royal Commission again recommend placing transmission lines underground. Calls for the VNI West lines running from near Stawell to Kerang to go underground have been rejected as too costly.
“For an organisation like the CFA who relies predominantly on volunteers, why wouldn’t it stop and ask the question ‘Why are we allowing the added risk of transmission lines to our volunteers and those we serve to protect?” Mr Watts said.
“Rural land holders, who are typically CFA volunteers, pay a fire Services property levy on their land, which funds the annual estimated expenditure of the CFA and its paid employees.”