Wednesday, 2 April 2025

Cooba solar project

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (18:16): (1561) My adjournment is to the Minister for Agriculture and relates to the Cooba solar farm in Colbinabbin. A submission has been put forward to build a solar factory and battery energy storage on prime agricultural land, with over 700,000 panels and 300 batteries across 1000 hectares. I have been to the site and seen the huge expanse of land that will be impacted. It is a stunning location, and local residents are concerned about the impact of this proposal. The project is opposed by the Colbinabbin Renewable Action Group, which represents 60 businesses, farmers and residents who surround the property. We acknowledge their representation in the chamber gallery tonight.

Some who are a bit older in this chamber may remember the 1980s commercial ‘Oils ain’t oils’. Well, I grew up on a farm, and I can tell you that soils ain’t soils. The state government has an important responsibility to oversee future development and ensure that we look after prime agricultural land. Our global population continues to grow and so does our need for food production. The location of this factory is on prime agricultural land. It has unique soils, access to irrigation and moderate climate and rainfall, and the area is ideal for a huge variety of grain, viticulture, horticulture and livestock. The volcanic basalt soils – premium soils – are some of the best in the country and unique to Colbinabbin and the Heathcote wine region. I was very disappointed to learn that the project developer did not do any soil testing of the area and significantly understated the quality of the soil in their proposal. They used data from the City of Greater Bendigo, which I can tell you is vastly different.

Agriculture in Colbinabbin is the main economic driver for the local community and the Campaspe shire. Cereal crops are grown for domestic and overseas markets, and thousands of acres have been developed for winegrowing, with many cellar doors. Colbinabbin is also the largest supplier of sun-dried tomatoes in the Southern Hemisphere. Sheep, wool and cattle are also grown for domestic and overseas markets. The Campaspe Shire Council zoned the area for farming. The soil has been shown to be highly significant and should be set aside for continued agricultural production. I know in December last year the council agreed to formally oppose the planning application, citing significant concerns regarding its impact on agricultural land and the local environment.

Agriculture is significant for Victoria. Victoria punches well above its weight. We account for 24 per cent of farm businesses in Australia, despite having about 3 per cent of Australia’s total agricultural land area. There are over 21,000 farm businesses with nearly 70,000 jobs, and it is a significant contributor to our economy and food and fibre exports. Over 75 per cent of these jobs are in regional Victoria. It is areas like Colbinabbin where I ask the Minister for Agriculture to ensure that agricultural values are protected.