Wednesday, 9 September 2026

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (16:51): I move:

That the petition be taken into consideration.

I rise today to speak on behalf of the 11,760 Victorians who have signed a petition calling on VicGrid and the Minister for Energy and Resources to remove the eastern section of the Central North renewable energy zone (REZ) from the 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan, particularly the area between Shepparton and Goorambat. The petition was tabled on 11 August and the minister’s response was due on 27 August, but as yet the minister has not provided the petitioners with a response. To make that worse, the minister, Jaclyn Symes, who is in the house now, is a local member representing those communities.

The campaign has been driven by a tenacious group of Dookie residents who are passionate about conserving the area where they live and farm. Some of them are here in the gallery today and some of them are watching online. I want to acknowledge them and their efforts and recognise their deep love for the land and the place they call home. They are not against renewable energy, but they do understand that batteries and solar and wind facilities are industrial facilities that must be in the right location. It is clear that the new eastern section of the Central North REZ is not the right place for renewable energy projects. The government would have known that if they had taken the time to actually consult with local communities before creating the energy zone, but they did not.

I have repeated the history of the zone many times before, but let me state it again briefly. The original Central North renewable energy zone was a very large area between Bendigo and Shepparton. Farming communities and local government authorities in the zone were opposed to it, and VicGrid did listen to their complaints and responded by making the zone smaller. However, to compensate for the area loss in the western section, the Labor minister for energy approved for inclusion in the final transmission plan a completely new eastern section of the zone, running from Pine Lodge near Shepparton through to Glenrowan. This was done without any warning at all and without any consultation. Locals had not seen the proposed boundaries and were given no opportunity to assess the implications for their properties, their farms, their businesses and their communities. This irresponsible decision has created immense stress and anxiety in the communities who live and work on the targeted land. Their homes and farming futures have been under a cloud for the past year as Labor drags its feet on a decision to abolish the zone, alter the zone or, worst of all, formally declare the zone as it is.

This issue is bigger than just Dookie. It will affect farmers, landowners and residents all along the zone through Pine Lodge, Cosgrove, Dookie, Broken Creek, Goorambat, Winton and Glenrowan. Parts of this area have, sadly, already been overwhelmed by thousands of solar panels that have carpeted the land with glass and steel and altered forever what was once a peaceful and natural landscape. Removing the eastern section of the Central North REZ will not turn back time and stop those projects going ahead, but abolishing this section would preserve what precious land remains, and that land is incredibly valuable.

Dookie and surrounding areas comprise some of the most productive agricultural land in Victoria, and it absolutely must be protected. Right now is the best time of year to see the remarkable fertility of the land from Dookie to Goorambat. If you drive through the area, you will be surrounded by a sea of gold with canola crops towering above the fence lines. Local farmers tell me the area is once again on track for an above-average harvest, and that is no surprise. The district’s reliable rainfall, cooler climate, fertile soils and highly skilled farming community consistently allow it to outperform broader averages year on year. Data for grain production shows the productivity of dryland cropping is 67 per cent above the state average in the Dookie area. Dookie produces up to 8 tonnes of wheat per hectare and 3 tonnes of canola, making it one of Victoria’s best performing regions. This is clearly not marginal land or neglected scrub; this is incredibly fertile prime agricultural land that our state relies upon as an essential source of food and fibre, not just for Victoria but for the country.

The signatories to this petition are asking Parliament to recognise the value of this agricultural land and the communities who live there, their landscapes and their future. It must be protected, and I commend the petition to the house. I also am very disappointed at the interjections from the opposite bench at the beginning of my contribution. It is totally disrespectful to the people of the communities in the renewable energy zone and to the people in the gallery today.

 Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (16:56): I rise to respond on this petition concerning the proposed Central North renewable energy zone tabled by Ms Lovell, and I want to thank Ms Lovell for her advocacy on behalf of her constituents. But I can tell the house that this petition is in fact no longer necessary. The minister has today confirmed that the proposed Central North renewable energy zone will not proceed. This follows extensive community feedback and expert advice from VicGrid, which has now considered hundreds of pieces of feedback on this zone and provided advice on where our renewable energy zones can be amended without affecting the renewable generation and transmission capacity Victoria needs.

VicGrid’s advice was clear that the Central North zone should not proceed. We have accepted this advice. Central North already hosts significant renewable generation with existing and planned projects using much of the capacity available to plug into the existing grid. Rather than pushing new transmission into an area that has already made a strong contribution to this state’s network capacity, the next wave of investment can instead be focused where projects can connect efficiently and new transmission can genuinely unlock more renewable energy. It is about putting new wind, solar and storage where the grid can best support it, not where it is already stretched.

Our state’s renewable energy transition is not being done to regional Victoria; it is a transition regional Victoria is being asked to lead – host benefit payments, land lease incomes, local jobs in construction and maintenance and genuine investment flowing into towns that have too often been an afterthought in this state’s economic story. That is what a well-run renewable energy zone delivers, and that is exactly why we created VicGrid in the first place: to minimise the impacts of renewable energy projects through well-planned development of transmission, generation and storage and to make sure that these projects balance the needs of the community with the need for generation in Victoria.

Renewables now provide over 45 per cent of Victoria’s electricity, more than four times the share when this government came to office. That did not happen by accident. It happened because we built VicGrid with a clear obligation to listen to communities. Our renewable energy zones are a result of extensive community consultation and feedback drafted to protect our energy, food and water security together, not one at the expense of others. The decision on Central North is proof that that obligation is real and is not rhetoric. Our existing declared renewable energy zones remain a vital part of delivering this transmission. From mid-2027, when the Victorian access regime comes into effect, all new generation and storage projects will need an access authority before they can connect, allocated through a competitive tender process based on merit so that access to our grid goes to the best projects, not just whoever gets there first. We will continue to work closely with communities across the state as we develop the 2027 Victorian transmission plan. Only the Carroll Labor government has a sensible, pragmatic plan, developed alongside local communities, to keep our lights on and our bills down. While we make decisions based on grid capacity and take advice from experts, those opposite continue to take the lead from ideological One Nation scare campaigns.

Can I say this is an example of the minister listening – a minister from regional Victoria who very much understands the concerns of her community. Can I acknowledge your leadership in the short time you have held the portfolio, Minister, and can I also thank the petitioners for engaging with this Parliament. I thank Ms Lovell again for raising their concerns in this place. This government is always listening. VicGrid did its job and Central North will not proceed. This is what genuine engagement looks like.

 Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (17:02): I rise to speak also on this petition. It is of course vital to have meaningful community consultation on these sorts of matters. They are important discussions, and the Greens support the noting of the petition by the chamber today. Our state’s farms and regional communities have hosted wind and solar for decades and transmission lines for even longer. While there can be some restrictions, like height limits that need to be worked around on particular sites, they can successfully coexist with most agricultural operations. Indeed they are helping diversify operations and already delivering for regional communities. It is a misconception, simply, that renewables and transmission lines are incompatible with agriculture. It is simply not the case.

If you head out to regional Victoria to see the turbines and transmission corridors that are already in place, you will see many are situated in working farmland, cropping fields or grazing pastures. Sheep and cows are very happy to graze around the bottom of towers. In fact we have often seen on sunny days that they will cluster in the shadow of turbines if there is a lack of tree cover in their paddock. It has also been shown, as this infrastructure spreads in the state, that fields with solar panels can in fact have higher yields than those without them, with condensation forming on panels overnight, which then drips down onto crops or pasture and provides much-needed water in dry conditions. The mixture of sunshine and partial shade can be better than unrelenting sun, and the panels can be mounted on brackets that allow sheep or cattle to graze underneath them, with better grass meaning healthier animals and higher yields for farmers. This is without even mentioning the direct financial benefits that can flow to individuals and farmers from hosting renewable energy infrastructure, a steady and predictable income that can really take the stress out of the weather-dependent ups and downs of income from agriculture alone.

The shift to renewables is not only an opportunity to shift from polluting fossil fuels to a source of energy that will not run out and will not cook our planet, but it is an opportunity to give communities more ownership of our energy production and for more of the benefits to stay in our communities. It is a huge opportunity if we get it right. This of course depends on proponents working with landholders and the community to make sure that they are sharing the benefits of investment in renewables. We have an excellent opportunity here to learn from the people who know best, and there are many folks and communities in the regions who are successfully, and in many cases proudly, hosting clean energy, who have already navigated benefit-sharing and are happy to share that experience of what has worked and what they have learned. VicGrid has, as has been said, been working to develop a model for ensuring the benefits of the transition are shared fairly, and this sort of experience is vital input. Armed with this feedback, this promising model should help communities grow confidence that when a project proponent comes to town, they will be able to get their fair share of the benefits.

This petition also mentions Aboriginal cultural heritage sites, and of course it is vital that these are protected. But renewables potential does not mean a free-for-all where projects can ignore Aboriginal cultural heritage. VicGrid and project proponents do need to work closely with traditional owners to ensure sites of cultural significance are protected. Project proponents are also required to engage with traditional owners and share the benefits of their projects.

As I close, I also just want to mention the elephant in the room here. Climate change is a huge part of the context, and we must build out more renewables and connecting infrastructure in order to transition away from polluting and emissions-intensive fossil fuels, coal and gas. If we do not do that, we will keep cooking our planet, and we know that regional communities are already bearing the brunt of the impacts of worsening climate disasters and more frequent disasters. In fact regional communities are copping some of the harshest effects of climate change. This is all happening in the context of the super El Niño that is predicted. Our regional communities are already on the front lines of harsher and more frequent droughts, which makes it harder and harder to know whether we are going to have dependable rainfall and harder and harder to know if there is dependable farming capacity. These regional communities are the ones already fighting harsher and more frequent bushfires and trying to recover over and over. Because climate change will cause extremes in both directions, as we have already seen, there is the potential for more flash flooding and torrential rain, washing away everything from valuable topsoil to people’s homes. As we navigate this transition, let us never forget that it is actually regional communities that are on the front lines if we fail to make this transition successfully.

 Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (17:07): I am pleased to rise and speak on this petition to remove the eastern section of the Central North renewable energy zone from the 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan. I do want to thank all those that have taken the time to sign this petition. As Ms Lovell said, there are over 11,000 signatures all up from people who have added their voice to this issue, and these concerns have been presented to Parliament. I know we spoke on it last sitting and again today, and we do acknowledge the work and the advocacy that have been done by the local community that have achieved the outcome that we have heard today: that the Central North REZ will not proceed. That covers the Greater Shepparton area, Benalla and Bendigo.

It is timely that we are debating this issue in Parliament today, when Greater Shepparton have been showcasing their region in Queen’s Hall at state Parliament, because they contribute so much to our state. It is certainly known as the food bowl. I was in Shepparton on Saturday and saw rows and rows of fruit trees in blossom, and they were absolutely stunning. It is such an important part of our state and produces around 25 per cent of the total value of Victoria’s agricultural products. It is a major horticultural and food production area, growing stone fruit, pears and apples – we held some today. It grows kiwifruit – a huge amount; I think it is about 90 per cent of our kiwifruit market – and tomatoes as well, alongside significant dairy cattle, sheep and grain production. That agricultural base supports a strong food processing and manufacturing industry that creates jobs and adds value to produce for Australian and export markets. One of my favourite days in this role was visiting the SPC factory with Kim O’Keeffe, the member for Shepparton, and seeing the tinned apples and also the peaches being packed that I use at home.

Greater Shepparton’s farms and food producers and manufacturers are critical to Victoria’s economy and Australia’s food supply. I remember travelling to Singapore once and entering a store and seeing fresh food, but it had signs for which countries it had been imported from. It was just something I had always taken for granted, and it was a bit of a shock because I grew up on a farm. My family are in the Yarra Valley, and Dad and my grandparents and my great grandfather have always been involved, growing vegetables, fruit and flowers. I understand the significance of soils. My dad spent 40 years in the wholesale markets in Melbourne, travelling down to sell produce. It is certainly a flat-out place.

Different areas have different soils, different rainfall and different terrain. There are some areas that do exceptionally well, and Dookie is one of them. The Goulburn Valley is very special. The yields are so much higher, and a council-commissioned review found that the wheat and canola yields are much higher than the Victorian averages. We know that the original draft transmission plan that was released in May 2025 did not cover Dookie, but then later it did. That was a shock to the community, and it was certainly included without consultation at the time. Hundreds of people did attend community meetings, and they raised concerns about that. It has been good news that their advocacy on this issue has been heard today.

This petition highlights the community’s interest in protecting prime agricultural land. I commend my colleague Emma Kealy, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, who introduced a private members bill into this state Parliament that is about protecting the state’s most strategic agricultural land from being permanently lost to poorly considered development. It is about recognising the strategic asset that it is rather than treating it as just another land use in Victoria’s planning system. Victoria produces about 28 per cent of Australia’s gross value of agricultural production, with a farmgate value of roughly $22 billion a year, generated by more than 21,300 farming businesses across the state. This bill, this approach, is about making sure that when decisions are made affecting agricultural land, they are made with agricultural expertise at the table.

If we win government in November, we have already said that we are committed to scrapping the emergency services tax, stopping VNI West, reviewing Victoria’s entire transmission plan and repealing laws that remove a farmer’s right to say no to entry on their land. We will cancel fines issued by VicGrid and tackle farm crime. I welcome Shane Sali, who is the Nationals candidate for Shepparton at the state election, to continue the fight and advocate for our region.

 Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (17:12): I want to acknowledge anyone watching at home and acknowledge the consultation process that has concluded. The minister has been hitting the phones today letting people know. I want to pick up on Ms Lovell’s point that there has not been consultation. This was a consultation process. A consultation process has been run, and this decision has been made. For those that leant in and contributed to that process: thank you. For those that are happy with this outcome: congratulations.

I want to come to Mrs Broad’s point on agriculture – $22 billion and 28 per cent of the nation’s output. I too grew up on a farm. I too want to see farms handed down from generation to generation. But we have got to get really serious about the impacts on farms of hotter and hotter weather. It drives down productivity. If we are talking about 28 per cent of the nation, we want it to be as productive as possible, and energy is a big part of that. The Liberals and Nationals and One Nation are not bringing anything to the table about how we are going to generate energy. They are simply not bringing anything. If they have their way, all of our electricity bills are going to go up. They are not telling us where they are going to get their electricity from. They are just putting a line through everything. It has been a lot of decades since they built things in this state. Under Bolte they built roads, they built transmission lines and they built dams. The whole town of Yallourn was moved. Entire farms were taken out for pits. The Liberal–Nationals and One Nation are more like the Greens nowadays with petitions. They will not tell you what they will do; they will tell you what they are against. If they are going to use gas, it is 200 bucks a megawatt. So front up to Victorians and tell them how much it is going to cost on their electricity bills. If you are going to use gas, we have just had an inquiry into Bass Strait and the gas is just about gone, so where are you going to get your gas from?

Wendy Lovell: On a point of order, President, this is not a debate about gas. It is not a debate about coalition policy. This is a debate about a petition that was brought to this chamber by 11,760 Victorians who signed the petition –

The PRESIDENT: You are debating the point of order.

Wendy Lovell: because this government had created a renewable energy zone without consulting with those communities. I ask you to draw the member back to the petition.

The PRESIDENT: He was talking about renewable energy, I believe.

Tom McINTOSH: The state’s generation of electricity is exactly what we are here to talk about, and don’t you say there was not consultation when we have just had a whole consultation process.

Wendy Lovell: On a point of order, President, the member is not talking through the Chair; he is actually addressing me and pointing aggressively, and I feel intimidated. The member should be brought back to the petition and go through the Chair.

The PRESIDENT: Please do address your contribution through the Chair.

Tom McINTOSH: I am very happy to speak through the Chair, and I apologise if I pointed. Let us be very clear: the Liberals, One Nation and the Nationals have no plan for electricity generation in this state, and our entire state depends on electricity. They provide nothing. If it is going to be gas, where are they going to get the gas from? They have got to come clean. Is it going to be from farms, or are you going to import it? And if you import it, how much are we going to pay for it? You can laugh it off and you can say it is all a joke, but you are sitting here providing Victorians nothing about the cost of electricity, and the reality is we have to build –

Wendy Lovell: On a point of order, President, the member has again strayed from the subject of the petition. He is being disrespectful to the 11,760 Victorians who signed this petition. This is not a debate about gas.

The PRESIDENT: I think you are debating in the point of order.

Wendy Lovell: It is a debate about a renewable energy zone in central Victoria, not gas.

The PRESIDENT: Ms Lovell, you will get to reply for 2 minutes soon.

Tom McINTOSH: A process has been run and a decision has been made, and it is a decision that I hope the 11,000 signatories are happy with. I want to park that to the side. I want to talk about our state – a state that has a proud automotive industry history and a proud manufacturing history. We need electricity. This is about electricity, and we have got to build generation. If we do not build generation, we are going to find ourselves, in the next five to 10 years, without any electricity. We have heard Yallourn is not going to continue. We have heard AGL do not have interest in continuing Loy Yang A. Where is the electricity going to come from? Victorians deserve to know. This is fine. The reason why we have had the renewable energy zones is to identify with community, with farmers, with regional towns, with businesses, with industry, with jobs, with investments, with training and with skills where we are going to put the generation.

We have got to get some agreement, and we have got to get on and build it. We cannot have petition after petition after petition saying what we are all against. At some point someone has got to stand up. Someone has got to be an adult in this state and say that we need electricity and that we need to build the generation. Where is the workforce going to come from? Where is the investment going to come from? Is it going to be private investment, or is it going to be like the small modular nuclear reactors we talked about for two years that have gone nowhere and that were going to be state funded? Let us just be really, really clear, because we do not want to be back here in four or eight years with power prices going through the roof because we had people saying what they are against and no-one had the guts to stand up and say what they are for.

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (17:18): I want to thank everyone who contributed to the debate: Ms Watt, Ms Copsey, Mrs Broad and even Mr McIntosh. I also want to thank the affected communities within the proposed Central North renewable energy zone who rose to demand that their voices were heard – and they were. I thank the minister for listening to them and for making that decision. But the reality is, without them rising to that challenge to make their voices heard and without this petition that they collected 11,760 signatures on, this would not have happened.

This petition brought significant attention to Labor’s irresponsible choice to create the eastern section of the renewable energy zone without any consultation. The community drove a campaign to raise awareness and inform the Minister for Energy and Resources and VicGrid about how precious their land is and how it must be protected. I congratulate the people within the REZ who stood up for what is right. Without your determination, the government would have pushed ahead, but instead you forced them to fold. I also congratulate the 11,760 petitioners who signed the petition. This is a real win for people power. I have to say that this is absolutely a magnificent way for me to end my career: to have been the voice of these people in the Parliament, to have been their conduit and to see them get this win for the communities within that Central North renewable energy zone. I am so proud to have been able to do that for all of you.

Motion agreed to.