Tuesday, 2 June 2026

 Wayne FARNHAM (Narracan) (19:09): (1673) My adjournment this evening is for the Minister for Planning, and the action I seek is that the minister consider all factors when assessing the BESS projects in my electorate.

I have numerous BESS projects occurring in my electorate, and it is of great community concern that these projects will be decided by the minister. They do not get decided by the local council, and what my community is asking is that the minister consider all factors when assessing these projects. We are talking about rural farmland in my area. This is farmland that is zoned rural. Farmers jump through hoops just to get a shed put on these properties, yet these BESSs, the battery energy storage systems, can be just put there at the direction of the minister. What my community is also concerned about is that the minister can remove overlays to let these projects happen. In my area we do have significant, catastrophic bushfires from time to time unfortunately. Again, my community is concerned about the impact that the bushfires will have in the areas where these projects are going. My colleague Mary Aldred, the member for Monash in the federal Parliament, and I are very much a unity ticket on this, where we believe the community should be consulted and the council should have a say.

But what is even more confusing for my community with these BESS projects is that there is no renewable energy zone in the Baw Baw Shire Council – none at all. These BESS projects are outside these renewable energy zones, and we cannot understand why they are not targeted in the renewable energy zones, given that is what they were set up for. It seems to be that this government is riding roughshod over regional Victoria when it comes to these renewable projects. They have taken away all consultation. They have taken away the say of the community. There has not even been a government representative down there in any community engagement that has gone on. Not one person from government has come down to listen to the concerns of the community. I really do urge the minister to have a look at the locations of these things and assess them properly. If you have a battery energy storage system in a bushfire overlay zone, it should not occur there. Or if it is in a cultural heritage area, it should not occur there. I have brought this up several times, but I know the assessments are due, so I am urging the minister to assess them properly and have my community concerns front of mind when making those judgements.