Upper Lachlan farmers join calls for transmission line Senate inquiry

Farmers from Upper Lachlan, Yass, Wagga Wagga and Victoria converged on Canberra's Parliament House on Tuesday. The 70-strong group pressed for a Senate inquiry into the government's $20 billion 'Rewiring the Nation' plan. This aims to unlock investment in the energy grid and harness renewables. The program allocates $12b to new transmission projects.

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TransGrid's $2.1 billion, 500 kilovolt HumeLink project, involving a 360km transmission line from Maragle, near Wagga Wagga, to Bannaby is part of the plan. So too is the $3.3 billion Victoria to NSW Interconnector West project.

Upper Lachlan farmer and HumeLink Alliance member, Andrea Strong, joined 14 others from the lobby group in Canberra. More than 50 farmers also came from Victoria.

They met with Nationals leader, David Littleproud, and Mallee MP, Dr Anne Webster, before meeting with crossbench senators to lobby support for the inquiry.

"HumeLink is a major environmental issue for the community and it will industrialise the landscape, which has great natural beauty, for the next 80 to 100 years," Ms Strong said.

"We need environmentally responsible transmission as well as good generation as we transition to net zero emissions."

Ms Strong said she was very pleased the overhead lines and towers were becoming an issue. She was also buoyed by the "passion" with which Senators spoke.

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The trained economist said the project involved clearing of 1862 hectares of critically endangered woodland, would impact 82 threatened species and six threatened ecological communities. The Alliance commissioned an independent ecological report.

The Alliance has been pushing for the line's undergrounding which would result in a 15-metre rather than 70m easement.

Ms Strong argued other nations, including Germany and the US had demonstrated it was possible to place alternating current power (ACDC) underground in order to harness renewable energy.

"It's entirely feasible and the rest of the world is looking on in disbelief as Australia builds more transmission lines," she said.

"Yes, undergrounding is more expensive but when you factor in the costs to the community and environment over 100 years, it is the better cost option."

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TransGrid has ruled out this option, saying it was too expensive and it was bound by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to find the most cost effective solution.

But with the Snowy 2.0 delayed until 2029, Ms Strong said there was time to reconsider. HumeLink will eventually connect to Snowy 2.The Alliance has commissioned a review of TransGrid's report dismissing the underground option.

Mr Littleproud has also called for the government to "press pause" on Rewiring the Nation, including HumeLink.

He told The Post the Coalition was not against renewables but Labor's "reckless race" to 82 per cent renewables by 2030 would have consequences.

"The planning has to be done properly and that work is being forgotten because of the target. There are human and environmental costs," Mr Littleproud said.

He maintained that "$80 billion" of transmission lines, totalling 128,000km, would strip away prime agricultural land and destroy native bushland. Further, he said little consultation had occurred and farmers were "understandably outraged."

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The Nationals leader said a Senate inquiry was needed to ensure renewables had a "social licence" to operate in rural communities, and that all alternatives were explored.

"We don't say ban all transmission lines but where we can minimise impacts, that should be done," Mr Littleproud said.

"...Nearly half of energy bills are made up of poles and wires costs... We should exhaust all alternatives to negate the need for this construction."

He believed only one more crossbencher, Senator Lidia Thorpe, was needed to secure an inquiry.

Ms Strong said the inquiry was essential to also scrutinise TransGrid's economic assumptions.

"The economics of HumeLink are very questionable," she said.

Ms Strong pointed to a conclusion that the project would result in a net $491 million benefit. But AEMO found that including competition benefits in this calculation was "uncertain." When deducted, the net benefit was $39m, which Ms Strong described as "tiny."

"They are also not required to consider the environmental and community impact (in the calculation) and that's a real problem," she said.

"...I definitely think there's hope (with a Senate inquiry). Snowy 2 has been delayed and we have time to get the transmission right. We say (TransGrid's) 2026 imperative is no longer there, Snowy's delay represents a material change and they must relook at the project."

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