Farmers fined for blocking VNI West transmission work

• Several Victorian farmers have been fined for obstructing access to their properties for workers building the Western Renewables Link transmission project.
• The farmers say they are frustrated by the project’s impact on their land and believe they have not been adequately consulted or compensated, while authorities argue access is legally required for the infrastructure work.
• The dispute highlights growing tensions between renewable energy projects and landholders, with concerns about property rights, compensation and the disruption caused by major transmission infrastructure.

Farmers in Victoria’s west have been fined for refusing to let authorised officers onto their properties to progress transmission line planning works.

On Tuesday, 12 farmers received $814 fines in the mail from the Victorian government for not allowing workers access to their land to prepare to build the controversial VNI West project.

Another six formal warnings were also sent to property owners for denying access.

Stud sheep farmer from Marnoo, Trent Carter said he was refusing to pay the fine and would fight it in court.

“It’s a wake-up call to every property owner around the country whether rural or residential,” he said.

“What we think is ours, isn’t necessarily ours and it’s open slather for governments to come in and do what they’d like to do if they want.”

“I’ll be seeking legal advice going forward, we’ve got to represent everybody else who’s a property owner and set a precedent, not get bullied.”

Farmers have been threatening to deny access to their land for transmission planning work, despite warnings of large fines and clashes with police.

For VNI West to continue, authorised officers need to access private land within the planned …

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Original article and photo by "ABC News"