Nationals Members for Upper Hunter, Dave Layzell, and Northern Tablelands, Brendan Moylan, have renewed their criticism of the New England REZ transmission line corridor.
They’ve warned the so-called “refined” route shows a blatant disregard for community feedback and continues to ignore the serious concerns raised by local landholders and residents.
During a recent visit to the Upper Hunter electorate, Energy and Environment Minister Sharpe acknowledged the proposed route would impact professional aviation firefighters, agriculture and thoroughbred industries, and have environmental impacts on the Timor Caves and New England koala colonies.
Mr Layzell said the concerns of communities across the Upper Hunter have been largely ignored through the release of the refined corridor.
“For a young family like Lucy and Tom Haigh, this is the darkest of days. They are facing the prospect of uprooting their lives with the installation of enormous transmission lines over their home,” Mr Layzell said.
Mr Moylan said farmers and community members across the New England and Upper Hunter have bent over backwards to engage in good faith.
“They’ve attended meetings, provided detailed feedback, and tried to be part of the solution but they have been ignored and treated with absolute disregard by the Minns Labor Government,” Mr Moylan said,
“This isn’t just frustration; it’s a complete breakdown of trust. You cannot deliver projects of this scale by sidelining the very people who are expected to host them.”
The New England REZ received 481 submissions from people and organisations during last year’s consultation period. Of those, 467 responses expressed strong concern about one or more key issues related to the project.
