Thursday, 19 October 2023

Western Victoria Region

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (14:02): (488) My constituency question is for the Minister for Emergency Services, and it concerns the standing instructions given to the fire services in Victoria on firefighting in the proximity of transmission lines. The proponents of the Western Renewables Link and of the VNI West interconnector have repeatedly stated that in the event of fire, transmission lines would be powered down. This is clearly a requirement for any firefighting to take place in the area. But as the royal commission into the Black Saturday bushfires heard, there is significant and perhaps understandable unwillingness to turn power off given the consequences for communications, water supply et cetera. The CFA is aware of this and has standing orders not to fight in the proximity of these powerlines. So, Minister, why are you allowing AusNet and the Australian Energy Market Operator to give the public a false sense of security in their claims the switch-off would be immediate and automatic?