Farmers affected by the project have been protesting and refusing entry to contractors, while the government has introduced acquisition powers and penalties for refusing access.
The Victorian Farmers Federation has welcomed the news, but the Clean Energy Council has warned a failure of the project would jeopardise Victoria’s energy security.
VNI West would pass through St Arnaud, Charlton and Kerang districts.
The coalition claims the VNI West project has blown out from an initial cost of $2 billion to as much as $11 billion and, together with other transmission lines, will add more than $600 a year to Victorians’ energy bills.
The Coalition says the project won’t be ready for the expected closure of Yallourn as was originally intended, leaving Victorians without a secure energy supply.
The National Party and the Liberal Party also want to reverse the government’s decision to cease supplying gas to new subdivisions.
Nationals leader Danny O’Brien said a Coalition government would scrap VNI West, repeal Labor’s compulsory acquisition powers and end the fines issued against farmers who have been protecting their private property.
Clean Energy Council chief executive Jackie Trad said cancelling VNI West would do nothing to change the fundamental problem confronting the next Victorian government.
“Yallourn is closing. That is 1480MW leaving the system inside the next parliamentary term,” she said.
“Cancelling VNI West does not make that closure go away. It just decreases the amount of electricity Victorians have access to, inevitably pushing up prices and electricity bills.”
12°C