General News
28 February, 2026
Survey lines drawn in the dirt
VICGRID has begun issuing formal access notices to a small group of landholders as it advances environmental surveys for the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West (VNI West) — a move opponents say highlights deeper fault lines in the state’s renewable energy transition. In a statement this week, VicGrid said it was seeking access to 27 properties to complete ecological surveys required for the project’s Environment Effects Statement (EES), describing VNI West as critical to delivering “reliable and affordable electricity for Victorians”.
Where voluntary access has not been agreed, the authority has issued notices under Section 93BD of the Electricity Industry Act 2000 (Vic). The process requires at least 30 business days’ notice before entry and involves Authorised Officers.
VicGrid chief executive Alistair Parker said negotiated access remained the preferred path.
“Our strong preference is always to reach voluntary agreements with landholders, because that gives them more say over when and how access happens — including timing, access points and biosecurity,” Mr Parker said.
“Where access hasn’t been possible despite repeated efforts, we now need to move to the next step available under the legislation so we can complete the environmental surveys required to design this project responsibly and deliver the power Victorians need.”
VicGrid said landholders along the preferred easement had been in survey discussions since 2023, and that 170 properties in the broader project area had agreed to access, enabling more than 300 private property surveys.
The authority says the ecological work is necessary to identify native vegetation and wildlife habitat and to inform the EES — Victoria’s most rigorous environmental approvals process — so the final design can avoid sensitive areas and limit impacts on farming operations.
It has also sought to encourage agreement-based access by offering payments scaled to the area required for surveys and by bringing forward 20 per cent of its proposed landholder benefit payment for VNI West easements.
For some landholders, however, the dispute extends beyond survey access.
Wallaloo farmer Ben Duxson, who heads the Wallaloo and Gre Gre District Alliance, said the notices would not alter opposition on the ground.
“We’re well aware that they seem to be doing that. Nothing changes with us. We’ll still be at the gate waiting for them,” Mr Duxson said.
He said the 30-business-day notice period would land in the middle of autumn seeding.
“That puts us right in the busy time,” he said.
Mr Duxson said the Alliance’s objections were not confined to access arrangements but went to the broader direction of the state’s energy policy.
“It’s still a bad energy policy,” he said.
Since late last year, he said, the campaign had broadened beyond the district.
“We’ve started a farmers fight-back campaign, which has got over 7000 signatures at the moment” he said. “All around Australia, people are seeing the injustice of what they're doing.”
The project has become a flashpoint in the wider debate over Victoria’s renewable energy build-out, including transmission planning, projected costs and whether viable alternatives have been adequately considered.
Mr Duxson pointed to what he described as escalating cost estimates for VNI West and said, in his view, the causes of repeated increases needed to be addressed before the project progressed further.
VicGrid maintains the surveys are a prerequisite of the EES process and says voluntary access remains available at any time, even where formal notices have been issued. It says landholders can still negotiate practical matters such as timing, access points and biosecurity.
Authorised Officers involved in the process are employed by Resources Victoria, not VicGrid. Under the legislation, they must carry identification, follow a code of conduct and cannot enter homes or residential buildings. In certain circumstances, an entry order may be sought through the Magistrates’ Court.
For supporters, the surveys are a necessary step in building the infrastructure to replace ageing coal generation. For opponents, they represent another advance in a policy direction they fundamentally reject.
For now, the next confrontation — if there is one — will not be in Parliament, but at a farm gate.
Read More: Stawell