Business & Rural
7 May, 2026
Nationals promise to halt VNI West
Nationals’ candidate for Ripon Jo Armstrong has said the unpopular project will be halted, and community consultation will be brough back to Victoria's energy debate if her government takes government later this year.
CONTROVERSIAL transmission line project VNI West will be stopped dead in its tracks if the Nationals are successful in this years State election.
Nationals’ candidate for Ripon Jo Armstrong has said the unpopular project will be halted, and community consultation will be brough back to Victoria's energy debate if her government takes government later this year.
The party says landholders across Ripon have seen their property rights taken away as the State Government "aggressively pursues its ideology-driven energy policy over scientific evidence".
Ms Armstrong said the State Government has legislated new laws that allows the steamrolling of renewable energy projects, including harsh fines for landholders refusing access to their own land, compulsory acquisition of land even before planning approvals, and the removal of third-party appeals to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
Ms Armstrong reaffirmed her commitment to repeal these laws and give farmers their rights back.
She said halting the VNI West project and establishing an urban solar feed-in tariff will minimise land use conflict while saving Victorians significant costs on their energy bills at a time when cost of living is already biting hard.
“Farmers and landholders in Ripon have been denied a voice in Victoria’s energy transition for far too long," Ms Armstrong said.
“Ripon residents have been silenced by Labor’s harsh laws designed to bulldoze through our community and put up costly transmission lines that our region does not want for an energy transition Victorians cannot afford.
“Only The Nationals will give farmers their rights back, communities their voices back, and make sure Ripon has a seat at the table for energy policy discussions.
“We will always fight for our communities’ fair share.”
Ms Armstrong said the Nationals’ plan for major transmission projects includes a halt to the VNI West project and a rigorous assessment process for all major transmission projects to ensure they meet community and cost expectations while protecting agricultural prime land.
It also includes the pausing of the Western Renewables Link (WRL) while the Victorian Transmission Plan is reviewed.
At the same time, The Nationals will establish new urban solar parks to generate renewable power closer to where it is needed while considering alternative transmission options, such as the Victorian Energy Policy Centre’s “Plan B” option, to bring down costs.
The Policy Institute of Australia estimates that VNI West and other proposed transmission lines could add $600 per year to Victorian's power bills.
VNI West was originally supposed to cost $2 billion, has grown to at least $7.6 billion and could blowout as high as $11 billion.