Tuesday, 28 November 2023

Farm public liability insurance

Tim McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (13:39): I am continually being called upon by farming families and communities regarding public liability insurance on farms that are next to or in close proximity to solar factories or lithium battery factories. As we move forward with renewable energy and the associated effects on regional Victoria, we are getting more questions than answers. A proposed solar energy factory at Meadow Creek still has locals guessing and concerned about long-term effects on local businesses, and more recently a lithium storage battery factory has been proposed at Dederang, which has locals at breaking point waiting for answers from Mint Renewables. The Victorian government needs to intervene and stop factories being set up on prime agricultural land that jeopardise the safety and wellbeing of local communities. It is unfair to have these solar and lithium energy factories on land that is zoned general farming and then have the farming communities compromised with environmental concerns, fire risk concerns and public liability concerns should a neighbour be responsible for an accidental fire that reaches these factories. The Victorian government must support these communities.