Wednesday, 9 September 2026

 Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (18:44): (2787) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Energy and Resources, and the action I seek is that she disclose the commercial payment arrangements underpinning the Western Renewables Link and subject them to proper public scrutiny before Victorian electricity consumers are required to pay for them. For years communities across western Victoria have been told that WRL is necessary and that they must bear the towers, easements and disruption that come with it. Yet there is still a very basic question this government will not answer: how much exactly has it committed Victorian electricity consumers to paying AusNet, and when? This is not an academic concern. AusNet’s own corporate material places Western Renewables Link within its ‘development and future networks’ business. That business has previously been described as operating through long-term, take-or-pay fixed annuity agreements commonly running for 20 years or more, with contracted rates adjusted for inflation. But the commercial arrangements for WRL itself remain hidden. Indeed the Australian Energy Market Commission has expressly noted that Victoria’s contestable transmission contracts are confidential, meaning there is no publicly available information about the costs or other conditions of successful bids or how they compare with a regulated alternative. It identified WRL as the only major transmission project then being delivered through this Victorian contestability model.

Now compare that with New South Wales. Transgrid is seeking to recover about another $1.2 billion from consumers for project EnergyConnect. The Australian Energy Regulator has published the application, invited public submissions and on 1 September published its preliminary view that Transgrid has not met all seven criteria required to reopen its revenue determination. Consumers can see the claim; they can see the regulator’s reasoning. They can make submissions before those additional costs are recovered from them. Where is the equivalent scrutiny in Victoria? Victorians are entitled to know the duration of the Western Renewables Link payment arrangement, whether and how payments are indexed, the annual amount payable, the total nominal and present value of those payments and ultimately how much will be recovered from electricity consumers. Minister, publish those figures and the relevant commercial terms and explain why Victorian consumers so far have been denied the transparency and independent scrutiny being afforded to consumers interstate.