Thursday, 1 June 2023

 Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (12:38): (233) Continuing the energy theme, my question is for the Minister for Energy and Resources and concerns the Australian Energy Market Operator’s recent announcement of the project assessment conclusions report for the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West. The economic modelling which justifies the project is breathtaking. It piles questionable assumption upon questionable assumption, some even contradicting current Victorian government policy in order to justify the cost. Simon Bartlett, formerly of the National Electricity Market’s reliability panel, professor of electrical engineering and chief operating officer at Powerlink, and Professor Bruce Mountain, director of the Victoria Energy Policy Centre at Victoria University, have described it as ‘a monumental mistake’ and a ‘natural disaster magnet’. They point to transmission capacity in the existing infrastructure and easements from the Latrobe Valley to Melbourne. Minister, in asking for people to come on trips, will you accompany me, along with Mr McCracken, to meet the communities threatened by the blight of this unnecessary and soon to be anachronistic powerline?