Business & Rural
10 May, 2026
Think of wildlife lost to VNI West
“It’s not a calculation or a number on a spreadsheet. For someone to be able to just draw a line on a map and take out all these trees and homes for flora and fauna, it just makes no sense.”
FARMERS at Gre Gre and surrounds stood 100 strong on a number of properties last week, all in the name of keeping VNI West at bay.
And while they fight to keep their land from being used to support a string of 500kv, 80m tall powerlines every 100m, residents are also looking to the effects this project will have on native flora and fauna.
Cindy O’Sullivan and Greg Baldwin at Gre Gre have been farming their land for multiple generations and it wasn’t until Greg took over, did he realise the homes cutting down the big redgums on his property would take away. “My for-fathers cut down a lot of trees around here, but we’ve realised how important the trees are to the environment,” Mr Baldwin said.
“We’re against this powerline for so many obvious reasons to do with farming, but nature also. We’ve got an eagle nest here and they’ve been here for as long as we have. How is it environmentally friendly to wreck all this?”
Ms O’Sullivan it was sad to think people who had never been on the land could make the plans they had on paper.
“You just don’t offset this type of thing,” she said.
“It’s not a calculation or a number on a spreadsheet. For someone to be able to just draw a line on a map and take out all these trees and homes for flora and fauna, it just makes no sense.”
Locals say there are only 200 pairs of breeding brolgas left in Victoria and Gre Gre is their nesting ground.
Farmers Fightback representatives said farmers were working against what’s being called “green infrastructure”.
“These people aren’t against renewable energy, they’re against the lie that says you can flatten ancient native habitat, and still call yourself environmentally responsible,” they said.
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