My friends,

We are not powerless, and we refuse to be silenced.

Right now in Victoria, something deeply dangerous is happening. Something undemocratic. Something that should send a chill down the spine of every Victorian who still believes in community, in land, in law.

Premier Jacinta Allan is using the power of her office – not to serve the people, not to consult with communities, not to advance genuine climate solutions – but to force through the Western Renewables Link, a high voltage transmission project so flawed, so contested, and so reckless that even her own government’s framework cannot justify it.

Let’s be crystal clear about what’s going on.

This Premier has directed AusNet, an internationally owned transmission company, to become more aggressive with landholders. She has empowered them to intimidate, to coerce, to show up at people’s gates uninvited, and to make it clear: the State is backing corporate force over community will.

She has overseen the manipulation of the Victorian Transmission Plan, a document that was supposed to guide our energy future but instead is being used as a tool of deception. As a tool that will line the pockets of foreign companies.

It has classified the Western Renewables Link as a committed project before any proper consultation, before a final route was even determined, and before the Environmental Effects Statement has been assessed. They called it planning. But the path was set long before the public was invited in, rigged from the start to serve corporate interests, not communities.

Let’s talk about this so-called plan to “keep the lights on.”

That’s the line Premier Allan and her obedient Energy Minister are clinging to, like a slogan on a sinking ship. But let’s not forget something important:

It was Labor who turned the lights off.

It was Labor who refused to plan a transition that actually worked for communities not just corporations.

And now? Now they want us to believe that this massive, expensive, deeply flawed transmission line is our only hope?

That is not leadership. That is fear-mongering. That is spin.

This project – this feeble excess – is riddled with deceit and deflection. It’s the desperate attempt of a government that cannot admit it made a massive mistake.

And now, she’s attempting to rush through a wholly inadequate Environmental Effects Statement, one that fails to account for the agricultural destruction, the fire risk, the biodiversity loss, the cultural heritage desecration, and the social toll this project will inflict. It is a rubber stamp masquerading as environmental assessment.

This isn’t leadership. It’s authoritarianism dressed in green, where community voices are ignored, criticism is unwelcome, and decisions are made behind closed doors, far from any genuine democratic process.

Let me be clear: we are not against renewables. We are not against climate action. We are not against building the infrastructure of the future.

But we are against corruption. We are against process being steamrolled. And we are against rural families being sacrificed so consultants can get their bonuses and governments can tick a box.

Premier Allan doesn’t see us. She sees obstacles. She sees delay. She sees what every self-serving politician sees when they look beyond the city, people in the way.

But we are not in the way. We are the way.

We are the farmers who feed Victoria. We are the CFA crews who defend it from fire. We are the families who live on this land, who know it, protect it, and have earned the right to be heard.

This government has made a terrible miscalculation.

They thought we would fold. They thought we would retreat. They thought they could wear us down with bureaucracy and media spin.

But they have only made us stronger. More connected. More determined.

We will continue to resist this project with everything we have, not just because it is unjust, but because it is unnecessary. There are more viable paths forward – options that use existing easements, better technology, go underground, and are less expensive, safer, and more suited to serve Victoria. But this government won’t consider them – not because they lack merit, but because they threaten the grip of the corporate interests that now direct its agenda.

Well, we’ve got news for them.

The future does not belong to corporations. And it does not belong to Premiers who confuse arrogance with vision.

It belongs to people who fight for it.

And that is exactly what we will do.

We will Hold the Line and the Western Renewable Link will never proceed.

Let no one underestimate the gravity of what lies before us. This paper lays bare the uncomfortable truths behind the Western Renewables Link, a project cloaked in bureaucracy, shielded from scrutiny, and forged without the consent of those it will most deeply affect. It is not merely a critique, it is a clarion call for justice, for transparency, and for the rights of communities to shape their own future. Read it, for within these pages is the case not only against a flawed transmission plan, but for the preservation of democratic accountability in the face of political expediency. If we fail to act now, we surrender our land, our voice, and our legacy.

Briefing Paper: Why the Western Renewables Link Must Be Cancelled

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Executive Summary

This document critically challenges the legitimacy of the Western Renewables Link (WRL) and outlines significant procedural, regulatory, and economic flaws within the Draft Victorian Transmission Plan (DVTP). VicGrid’s treatment of WRL as a “committed” project despite its status as “anticipated,” alongside its failure to consider credible alternatives and inadequate stakeholder engagement, demonstrates the fragility of the plan. The upcoming Environmental Effects Statement (EES) risks becoming a mere formality if the DVTP is allowed to stand. The WRL must be cancelled immediately to protect Victoria’s energy future, particularly given the escalating costs, growing social opposition, and availability of alternative solutions that could better align with Australia’s energy transition goals.

What is the Draft VTP?

The Draft Victorian Transmission Plan (VTP) is a government document that outlines where new electricity transmission lines will be built across Victoria. It shapes how and where major infrastructure like the Western Renewables Link (WRL) will go ahead.

Why this matters to residents of Western Victoria impacted by the WRL

The Draft VTP wrongly labels the Western Renewables Link as a “committed” project, even though it hasn’t been approved. This means the government is planning as if it’s already going ahead ignoring community concerns, alternative options, and proper environmental review.

If you live in a community affected by the WRL, this plan attempts to lock in a project that will destroy farmland, heighten risk in fire-prone areas, decimate the environment and cut across cultural heritage.

Why you must submit a response

Your voice matters. Submitting a response tells the government this plan is not acceptable. It challenges the false claims that the WRL is locked in, and it shows there is strong community opposition and credible alternatives.

Submissions close Tuesday 24 June at 11:59pm.

Speak up now—before it’s too late.

Need help with your submission?

We’re here to support you.
Email us at info@stoplaborstowers.org
Or come to the next community meeting Details Below.

Let’s make sure Western Victoria is heard.

COMMUNITY GUIDE FOR DRAFT VTP SUBMISSION

The “Guidelines and Key Issues Summarized for the Draft VTP Submissions – June 2025“ document is a practical, step-by-step guide to help residents of Western Victoria make a submission in response to the Draft Victorian Transmission Plan (VTP).

It explains how to prepare and upload a submission, outlines why it’s critical to respond, and provides clear instructions and deadlines. The guide also summarises the key issues with the current plan including the misclassification of the Western Renewables Link (WRL) as a “committed” project, the exclusion of alternatives, and the lack of proper consultation and environmental assessment. Residents are encouraged to use the guide to voice their concerns and demand a fairer, more transparent transmission planning process.

VTP BACKGROUND

The Draft 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan (VTP) is not a blueprint for a secure, sustainable energy future. It is a thinly veiled justification for the Western Renewables Link (WRL), a broken project forced on regional communities with no proper analysis, no transparency, and no consent.

Despite AEMO classifying WRL as merely “anticipated,” the VTP treats it as inevitable. There is no modelling of alternatives, no cost-benefitanalysis, and no acknowledgement of the immense risks to farmland, bushfire zones, cultural heritage, and human health. The VTP blatantly ignores the VicGrid Act’s requirement to assess social licence, environmental impact, and community-supported alternatives.

This is not planning. It is political theatre designed to rubber-stamp outdated projects that serve the few at the expense of the many.

We have one narrow window to stop this. The VTP is open for public comment until 24 June. Every single submission matters.

Now is the time to:

• Expose the VTP’s failures its refusal to analyse alternatives, its blind support for the WRL, its erasure of regional voices.
• Demand a genuine review of the social, economic, and environmental risks of the WRL.
• Call for the inclusion of alternatives such as Plan B and Syncline a shovel-ready, underground HVDC alternative that follows existing corridors, protects farmland, avoids bushfire zones, and actually reflects international best practice.

This is our chance to force the government to listen. To stop a disastrous project before it begins. To replace destruction with smarter, safer solutions.

Make a submission. Demand better. Because the WRL will never be built here, not like this, not with our consent.

Let the VTP be the turning point. Not a plan for transmission, but a call to arms.

👉 Submit now: Submission Link
🕛 Closes 24 June 2025.

Read the Energy Grid Alliance response to the VTP

The Draft Victorian Transmission Plan (VTP) and a looming Environmental Effects Statement (EES) process are being used to force through the Western Renewables Link – without transparency, without alternatives, and without community consent.

The deadline to respond to the Draft VTP is late June. Our voices must be hear and we demand accountability. We want to ensure we get as many submissions is as possible.

Join us for a critical community meeting wherewe will unpack the Draft VTP, explain what’s at stake, and help you prepare a powerful submission.

Date: Monday, June 23
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Myrniong Hall, 6 Short Street, Myrniong
Tea and coffee provided

This isn’t just an update it’s a stand.

Show up, speak out, and help Stop Labor’s Towers. Our land, our communities,and our future depend on it.

EES: If the EES becomes a tool to rubber-stamp destruction, we will meet it with unrelenting legal and grassroots resistance.

VTP: Vic Grid’s campaign of coercionmust end – united, we will not be bought, broken, or bullied.