The so-called “National Electricity (Victoria) Amendment (VicGrid Stage 2 Reform) Bill 2025”, currently before the Victorian Parliament is, in our view, the most dangerous piece of legislation in the modern history of this state. It is not a bill for the people. It is a handout to corporate energy interests, delivered at the expense of regional communities, private landholders, and the land itself.

Actually, Premier Jacinta Allen, we’re wrong to call it a handout. This is not a gift to the energy corporations. They paid for it. This legislation is the return on their investment the investment they made in lobbying, political access, and a government that now appears more responsive to their demands than to the people it was elected to serve.

And what does that investment buy?

It buys the power to enter our farms without permission. It buys police escorts onto our land. It buys legal cover for intimidation and trespass. It buys silence from a government that no longer listens.

But if you are a landholder a person who has worked, protected, and cared for the land for generations this bill strips you of your rights. If you object to transmission towers tearing through your paddocks, if you ask for fair treatment, if you say no – this bill allows force to be used against you.

This is not progress. It is oppression.

Let us be very clear: this bill would never apply to the leafy suburbs of Melbourne. It is designed to bulldoze through Western Victoria because our communities are seen as easier to ignore, easier to overwhelm, and easier to sacrifice.

This bill is not just bad policy. It is a profound moral failure.

• It threatens the mental health of farmers who already carry the weight of drought, debt, and intergenerational responsibility.
• It increases fire risk by routing high-voltage infrastructure through bushfire-prone zones, ignoring the warnings of locals, fire experts, and common sense.
• It unleashes environmental devastation, tearing down tens of thousands of trees, obliterating wildlife corridors, and bulldozing through the ecological lifeblood of our region in the name of corporate convenience.
• It puts rural hospitals, schools, and communities in greater distress by creating division and trauma, not investment and hope.

And for what?

To hand billions of dollars, ten billion to be exact in profit to AusNet, who export profits offshore, and who make no commitment to the people whose land and lives they are disrupting.

Premier Allan, we have not forgotten your government’s words about fairness, about consultation, about putting people first. But this bill proves that those words were hollow.

You say this is necessary for “renewables.” But renewables cannot be built on stolen trust and broken communities. If this is your climate plan – trampling over the very people who live closest to the land – then it is not a plan we can support.

We, the communities of Western Victoria, are not the problem. We are the custodians. The firefighters. The volunteers. The food producers. The guardians of biodiversity.

And we are being punished for saying no.

So we offer our amendments not in Parliament, but here, in principle:

• Withdraw the Land Access Bill.
• Restore the rights of landholders to say no to forced entry and corporate intimidation.
• Halt the Western Renewables Link until meaningful, transparent community consultation is conducted.
• Prioritise undergrounding and better alternatives such as the use of existing easements.
• Reject the use of Victoria Police as a tool of corporate enforcement.

Premier, your government may control the chamber. But we hold the ground.

We hold the history. We hold the future. And we are not afraid.

You may call us “fringe” or “difficult” or “anti-renewables.” But the truth is, we believe in climate action. We believe in energy reform. We believe in a better future.

We simply do not believe in sacrificing our homes, our health, and our rights so that a handful of corporations can increase their margins.

We have nothing left to give – except resistance.

And we will give that in full until the WRL is erased.

Make Your Voice Count: Start Your EES Submission Today

The Western Renewables Link (WRL) is a massive infrastructure project with profound and lasting impacts on Western Victoria’s land, communities, and way of life. The Victorian Government and AusNet have now released their 10,000-page Environmental Effects Statement (EES), and every affected resident has a vital role to play in responding.

This is your opportunity to tell your story and protect what matters most to you.

The Western Victoria Community Alliance has created a user-friendly EES Submission Guide to help you navigate the process. You don’t need to be a technical expert to contribute. This guide breaks down each relevant chapter of the EES and shows you where to focus your energy whether it’s fire risk, agricultural disruption, biodiversity loss, cultural heritage, or visual amenity.

See the full EES here

Start with your experience – how will this project affect your land, your livelihood, your community?

Use the Alliance’s guide to structure your submission. Focus on the chapters most relevant to your life. Back it up with personal evidence and clear examples.

You are not alone. The Alliance is here to support you with further research, technical insights, and submission tools. But your voice grounded in your knowledge of your land is the most powerful part of this process.

Don’t wait. Start your submission today and stand up for Western Victoria.

Start here: Download the EES Submission Guide

Need help? Reach out to the Western Victoria Community Alliance for support.

Let’s make sure this process is driven by the people it affects the most. Your submission can help shape the outcome.

Western Victorian Community Alliance & Moorabool Shire EES Drop-In Sessions

The Western Victorian Community Alliance, in partnership with Moorabool Shire, will be hosting three community drop-in sessions to support landholders in preparing their submissions on the Western Renewables Link Environmental Effects Statement (WRL-EES).

These sessions will not be attended by AusNet and are intended to offer genuine, practical guidance to help you complete your submission.

Please begin working on your submission beforehand using the guidelines above. Arriving with a draft will allow for deeper support and tailored advice.

Session Details:

• Bacchus Marsh – Lerderderg Library, 215 Main St
  Thursday 24 July, 4:00pm–8:00pm

• Myrniong – Myrniong Hall, 6 Short St
  Thursday 31 July, 4:00pm–7:30pm

• Ballan – Council Office, 15 Stead St
  Saturday 2 August, 10:00am–1:30pm

The Clock Is Ticking – Demand a Fair Go on the WRL EES

Submit Your Request for a Proper Extension Today

The Victorian Government has released the Environmental Effects Statement (EES) for the Western Renewables Link (WRL) — a massive 10,000-page document outlining the environmental, cultural, and social impacts of a high-voltage transmission line that will carve its way through Western Victoria.

The problem? They’ve only given 40 business days for the public to read, interpret, and respond.

That’s not consultation. That’s exclusion.

Landholders, farmers, business owners, and residents people with full-time responsibilities and families to care for — are being expected to match a decade of government and corporate preparation in just six weeks. It’s unworkable. It’s unfair.

And it risks sidelining the very voices who will bear the brunt of this project.

Join the Call for a Proper Extension

We are urging every impacted Victorian to submit a formal request for an extension of the EES exhibition period from 40 to at least 100 business days.

How to Take Action

Submit your request now TEMPLATE

Use the template letter prepared by community members or write your own based on your experience.

Send your submission to:

Tasha Latham

Principal Impact Assessor

Department of Transport and Planning

Environment.Assessment@transport.vic.gov.au