The Gordon community has come out to voice its feelings to AusNet regarding the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project.
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AusNet, the company tendered to build the powerlines, held a drop-in community session at Gordon Recreation Reserve on Wednesday afternoon to hear what the community had to say about the early stages of the project in its planning phase and answer any questions.
The Courier attended the session from 2pm until 3pm and estimated around 20 different residents came through to speak with AusNet staff.
One such community member was Clare Fuller, along with her husband Rob. The pair had recently taken over a 30 acre farm in Millbrook owned by Mr Fuller's family.
Mrs Fuller said she fears what sort of impact the installation of large powerlines on the farm would drastically lower its financial and sentimental value.
It feels like the way we value our property will be destroyed.
- Millbrook land owner Clare Fuller
"We were quite excited about what our future was looking like there... It's not a lot of land, but it's ours," she said.
"To have one of these giant pylons taking up space is going to have a massive impact. Just the visual impact will be huge... the property has a beautiful vibe and this would completely ruin it.
"This sort of thing will devalue the land not just financially, but also reduce the value for us in terms of what it means to have it. It's just sort of depressing. It feels like our value of the property will be destroyed."
A similar sentiment was echoed by Gordon farmer Archie Conroy, who said the project is already having an adverse effect within the community.
"It's tearing the community apart," he said.
"Instead of coming together, people can't even talk about it. I talked with someone about wanting to work to get it moved and he basically told me to bugger off. Everyone is scared that it could be on their property."
Mr Conroy spoke with members from AusNet for around 15 minutes on Wednesday, however he said he didn't feel any more certain as to why the powerlines couldn't be put underground, or why landowners aren't being treated as stakeholders in the process.
The exact route of the power-lines, which will serve a critical part in bringing Western Victoria's electricity grid into the 21st century to deal with the increased generation of renewable energy, has not yet been established.
A key point of dispute is whether the lines can be placed underground, a plan that would cost multiple times the pylon plan and likely be paid for by Victorian electricity users in their bills.
Gordon retiree Chris Tudor said while he does not believe the project will affect his land, he wanted to come and speak with AusNet staff on behalf of other members of the community.
Mr Tudor said he was impressed with the information they were able to share, but believes many more sessions like this need to take place.
"I wanted to come today because I want to support the community," he said.
"It's a terrific idea for them to come out here and listen to the community, because there's certainly a lot the community has to say."
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