Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to raise an issue which I have raised in this Committee previously—indeed, today—and that is the implications of the desalination plant which is currently being proposed in the Wonthaggi area, specifically on the edge of Kilcunda. I have said that the priority for Victoria for water must be to recycle the 150 billion litres a year which is currently dumped off the coast at Gunnamatta, on the Mornington Peninsular. Firstly, this is waste water which pollutes the coast. Secondly, it has a health effect. Thirdly, it is a monumental waste of water which could be recycled for industry and agriculture.

The state is not doing that. It is not working on this recycling plan. It has failed on that front. Instead, it has proposed a desalination plant at Kilcunda. I have talked today about the Your Water Your Say Action Group, which is subject of a costs order which is likely to drive some of them to bankruptcy. But a second element, which has been drawn to my attention in the past week, is the impact on local farmers who have only just been told that they are about to have a major, high-voltage powerline run through the middle of their farms. This line has suddenly emerged. It was not mentioned previously, was not mentioned prior to the last state election, was not mentioned in any of the discussions or community consultation and was not mentioned by successive Victorian premiers in any public advertisements.

It brings to my mind four major concerns. The first of those is the value of the land and the livelihood of the farmers themselves. I spoke this week with John and Wilma Coleman of Yannathan, who are dairy farmers. Part of their land is leased out to a farmer who leases and runs a dairy project as well. They have found that these powerlines will go right through the middle of their property. But they are not alone. Vegetable farmers have got the same problem. Dairy farmers up and down this scenic landscape will also have a massive new power line—never announced, never contemplated, never discussed—and it has been sprung upon them at this last minute. The impact will be quite devastating for their property values. I know in the case of the Colemans that any land which they may have contemplated excising to provide for their future retirement will now be almost worthless.

That leads to a second element: the loss of productivity. It comes in two forms. Firstly, planes will not be able to spray crops between the pylons. It affects a very large area. Of course, if you are flying near high-voltage pylons there has to be a very large clearance, and that will have a huge impact on the way in which land is sprayed. Secondly, I am advised the way irrigation equipment can be used will also be dramatically restricted. That has an impact on the productivity of the land—that is, the capacity of the land to produce and therefore to produce a return—and it twins with the outright drop in property values for the simple reason that people do not want to live in the shadow of extremely high-voltage powerlines. It is just a reality and a fact of property valuation in Australia.

This brings me to the third point, and that is the landscape values that are at risk and are to be lost. A major powerline through the Bass Coast and potentially through Cardinia shire will run through some of the most beautiful land in Victoria. This land potentially includes the Korumburra Hills. The powerline will have to cross the hills. It will be a visual blight in an area which is famous for its landscapes and famous for its tourism and which borders and protects Melbourne from the spread of high-density living. It will do enormous damage. It was never announced, never proposed and never foreshadowed. This brings me, finally, to the fourth element, and that is the fundamental breach of the promise that we would have a plant which, if powered at all, would be powered by renewable energy. All of these promises have been broken. It is a bad proposal. Farmers such as the Colemans need to be protected. (Time expired)