00:00It's an energy plan for the future that farmers want left in the past.
00:07Some rural people have declared this is a war, a war between government.
00:11In order to meet its renewable energy target of 65 per cent by 2030,
00:16the Victorian government has released its final transmission plan,
00:19proposing to divide the state into six renewable energy zones
00:23that will act as hubs for solar, wind and battery farms
00:26and be connected by new transmission lines.
00:29This is an investment in cheaper energy bills for every Victorian.
00:34But since the government's draft transmission plan was published just last year,
00:38the estimated cost has almost doubled from $4.3 billion to $7.9 billion.
00:44The report says it could even be as high as $15.8 billion.
00:48That report itself has already indicated pressures on building costs
00:53right across the country, so Victoria is not on its own here.
00:56And that's not the only change with the six energy zones having been redrawn or expanded.
01:02It feels very much like this is quite rushed and quite unplanned.
01:07The plan to build new power lines has been the cause of long-running protests
01:11among agricultural communities worried about the impact on their land.
01:15We are sick of Labor's failed energy plans.
01:19So now if government proceeds with this planned transmission line,
01:23they're going to have to build this through enemy territory.
01:26Increased transmission charges will also add an extra $14 per year to households,
01:31though the government says Victorians will ultimately save $20 a year
01:35through cheaper renewable energy.
01:37I'm a great sceptic. The basis of this plan are that bills will go down
01:42compared to what they would have been if we didn't do this plan.
01:45It doesn't say that the bills will go down against where they are today.
01:48And that's a very important distinction.
01:51The only person in Victoria that thinks this is going to drive down the cost of energy
01:54is Jacinta Allen.
01:56A dividing line in the transition to renewable energy.
02:01Y�� Bucken
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