Farmers affected by the project have been protesting and refusing entry to contractors, while the Victorian Government has introduced acquisition powers and penalties for refusing access.
The VFF has welcomed the news, but the Clean Energy Council has warned a failure of the project would jeopardise Victoria’s energy security.
VFF president Ryan Milgate said the decision to move from a ‘pause and review’ position to outright cancellation would bring much-needed hope to weary farmers and local communities after a multi-year battle to get the project scrapped.
“VNI West has long been a failed project that is tearing apart generational farming families and would rip up some of the best farmland in the country,” he said.
“From the very beginning this project had been fundamentally flawed on so many levels, this commitment from the Coalition is a huge step towards getting it thrown on the scrapheap for ever.
“This pledge from the Coalition confirms what farmers and communities have been saying all along, and there’s still time for the Carroll government to stand up for regional communities and do the same.
“VNI West has been an over-budget, unmitigated disaster that’s causing enormous stress and division across our regional communities.
“You cannot put a dollar figure on the loss of irreplaceable, highly productive farming land or the damage caused when you carve a massive transmission project through established farming operations.”
Mr Milgate added the Western Renewables Link, through western Victoria, must now face the same fate, with the VFF continuing to call for the project to be scrapped.
The Coalition claims the VNI West project has blown out from an initial cost of $2 billion to as much as $11 billion and, together with other transmission lines, will add more than $600 a year to Victorians’ energy bills.
The Coalition says the project won’t be ready for the expected closure of Yallourn as was originally intended, leaving Victorians without a secure energy supply.
The National Party and the Liberal Party also want to reverse the government’s decision to cease supplying gas to new subdivisions.
Nationals leader Danny O’Brien said a Coalition government would scrap VNI West, repeal Labor’s compulsory acquisition powers and end the fines issued against farmers who have been protecting their private property.
Clean Energy Council chief executive Jackie Trad said cancelling VNI West would do nothing to change the fundamental problem confronting the next Victorian government.
"Yallourn is closing. That is 1480MW leaving the system inside the next parliamentary term,” Ms Trad said.
“Cancelling VNI West does not make that closure go away. It just decreases the amount of electricity Victorians have access to, inevitably pushing up prices and electricity bills.
“Before anyone tears up the plan, Victorians deserve to know what the replacement plan is.
“Where does the electricity come from? When will it be available? And how will we get it to Victorian homes and businesses when we need it?”
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