Wednesday, 12 August 2026

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (17:32): I rise to speak on the petition I tabled yesterday bearing 1300 signatures, which added to the 10,460 online signatures I tabled on 28 July for the same petition. That is a total of 11,760 Victorians who have signed the petition calling on VicGrid and the Minister for Energy and Resources to remove the eastern section of the Central North renewable energy zone from the Victorian transmission plan. This huge number of signatures is a testament to the energy and dedication of Dookie residents who have driven this campaign and who are watching tonight online.

Let me briefly recount the history around this renewable energy zone. The draft Victorian transmission plan was released for public consultation in May 2025. It contained a single Central North renewable energy zone that spanned a massive footprint of 160,000 hectares between Bendigo and Shepparton. The large size and location of the zone seriously worried farmers, residents and local governments because it overlaps significantly with highly productive agricultural land. The final 2025 Victorian transmission plan, released in August that year, significantly reduced the zone to a smaller area close to the existing transmission line. However, I was completely shocked to discover that the final plan contained a nasty surprise, with a whole new section of the zone created to the east of Shepparton, running from Pine Lodge to Glenrowan. Let me emphasise this point: this section was not in the draft plan at all, and not a single farmer or landowner within the new section was aware that their land had been placed inside the renewable energy zone. This was a brand new section that was created in the final version of the transmission plan with zero consultation – zero. VicGrid have admitted this, and in the updated transmission plan they say:

We acknowledge that the eastern section of the REZ is new and was not consulted on during the draft 2025 VTP process.

When the Dookie community found out about the new section there was much shock and confusion, with many questions about why their land had been chosen, but very few answers. The only reason given was the hint that the eastern section had been created to satisfy developer interest. Imagine the stress and anxiety suffered by farmers who woke up one morning and read in the newspaper that their property had been targeted to host solar panels and wind turbines, and that is what the REZ boundary is. It is a target painted on their backs telling developers to concentrate their efforts here.

Rural landowners around Victoria will tell you that this often ends up in harassment, with energy developers chasing farmers and pressuring them until they sell up. This can divide communities when the zone pushes energy developers to focus intense pressure onto specific regions. Creating a new zone without any warning was a massive failure of basic principles of community consultation by a Labor government ideologically obsessed with renewables. Labor arrogantly thinks it can run roughshod over rural communities and force industrial renewable energy projects onto productive farming areas.

A Greater Shepparton City Council community survey found that about 75 per cent of people believed the boundary selection process was flawed and they opposed the current REZ proposal. Why do they oppose it? Because they recognise that the land around Dookie is highly productive agricultural land that is essential to food security in Victoria, and the government’s own solar energy facility guidelines say that prime agricultural land must be protected. The area has unique fertile soil that retains moisture and produces some of the highest yields in the state. Data for grain production shows that the productivity of dryland cropping in the area is 67 per cent above the state average. Dookie produces up to 8 tonnes of wheat per hectare and 3 tonnes of canola, making it one of the best performing regions in Victoria. The untouched natural beauty also attracts tourists to the area.

In May this year I attended two community meetings, and everyone at those meetings was against this plan. But it only takes one weak link and someone seduced by a tempting offer to open the door to unwanted development. 11,760 Victorians have signed the petition to say no. The minister for energy must listen to local residents and the over 11,000 petitioners and remove Dookie from the eastern section of the Central North renewable energy zone.