Photo: ALO
The ‘green’ pushback.
FARMER PROTEST
Farmers protesting the rollout of new power line projects drove their tractors into the heart of Melbourne, as the federal government declares we have ‘no time to lose’ after a decade of inaction on renewables.
The mounting community backlash against new “transmission lines” needed to shift the electricity grid from coal-fired power to renewable energy is as a crucial fight for federal and state governments.
Farmers are not happy with the transition and took their message all the way to parliament in the CBD.
Photo: SMK
The Albanese government has pledged to more than double the amount of power the electricity grid sources from renewables to 82 per cent by 2030 to help achieve greenhouse emission targets.
Funny how the year 2030 is coming up so much as the deadline date for many initiatives.
As Australia is now a sea of red-dominated states, lower-level governments like Victoria are following in suit, with the rural regions set to cop the brunt of this green transformation.
In a display of opposition, farmers drove their tractors into the city, causing scenes as they pushed through traffic along the roads into the heart of Melbourne.
Energy experts are increasingly worried that time is running out to build the thousands of kilometres of new high-voltage transmission lines needed to connect far-flung renewable energy zones to major cities, risking Australia’s ability to compensate for the looming closures of coal-fired power plants.
But farmers have accused the government of running a “reckless race” to renewables.
Speakers at the event called for the government to defer its deadlines, halt the privately run transmission projects, hold a Senate inquiry or summit into renewable energy, and start a national discussion on removing Australia’s moratorium on nuclear power.
Photo: X
Photo: X
“This is a virus,” Nationals MP David Littleproud said at the rally of farmers from western Victoria.
“It’s epicentre is Victoria, but it’s spreading up the east coast.”
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the next decade was “critical to Australia’s energy future”, but the backbone of Australia, the farmers, are forming a united front.
THE RENEWABLE PUSH-BACK
For years, we have documented how farmers in Australia have been left high-and-dry by government after government, through droughts, supply deals, foreign investments/sell-offs and more.
Today, Australia is experiencing one of the world’s fastest energy transitions as the economic viability of coal-fired power stations, which still make up two-thirds of the electricity grid, is set
Under the previous government, some of Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station owners announced plans to bring forward their closure dates.
AGL’s Liddell coal plant in NSW closed earlier this year, while at least four more – the Yallourn generator in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, NSW’s Eraring and Vales Point power plants, and Queensland’s Callide B – are expected to close before 2030.
Workers at these plants have also staged their own protests over job security as this transition occurs, calling for the establishment of a legitimate energy transition authority to oversea decisions.
Photo: AKI
But will they reach the Agenda 2030 targets?
Not if concerned farmers and regional residents have something to say about it.
At present, power line delays in NSW and Victoria are being driven by local objections that impact key projects such as HumeLink in NSW and the Western Renewables Link and VNI West in Victoria.
The projects will have an unknown toll on property values, the environment and the landscape.
This protest follows recent news in New South Wales, where Australia’s largest state farming organisation has called for a ban on solar project developments until rural interests are properly addressed.
Throughout the pandemic period, we saw the impact that farmers can have when they unite together, including Convoy protests across Canada where similar scenes with tractors were witnessed.
Internationally, they are fighting issues like new guidelines requiring farmers to cull their cattle and adopt more ‘green’ methods of production, while our farmers are fighting environmental vandalism head on.
We knew that Labor’s agenda, as part of Season 31 of Australia, was to focus on sustainable development transformation to adhere to the calls of our off-shore U.N. masters.
Let’s throw our support behind these farmers as they take a stand for common sense and Australia’s interests over the vested agenda of corporate greed and control.
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If these power lines are to take power to the city, why not make the power in the city, so many roof tops could do with some solar panels, stick a few batteries in underground carparks, even wind generators on top of those sky scrappers. The most ridiculous of all is the wind generators out in the bass strait, needs to get to land and then across hills and farming land, and they don’t expect wind turbines to last more than 20 years! Then they dump them in the ocean.
Good on the farmers.
The joys of “green energy” and “the reckless race to renewables”…will end badly.
I can’t see any of these so called renewables working efficiently at all. By the way, they are not renewable because once they come to the end of their life span they are dumped back into the environment and do not break down. This is the same for wind turbines and solar panels. We put solar panels on our shed some years back but they are not really that efficient at all. Would have been better spending money on a large water tank. Besides these so called green energy substitutes would never be enough to power a whole city. They must have rocks in their heads to even think that this is going to work. Obviously they are just taking orders from the Claus Schwab mob again.
By the way, good on those farmers!