There’s no guarantee on underground: Libs

OPPOSITION MPs have slammed the State Government for not requiring consortiums bidding for the desalination plant to put powerlines underground.
They say Mr Brumby’s announcement that he would prefer the lines buried doesn’t go far enough, and that affected landholders remain in limbo.
Bass MP Ken Smith said it was astounding that Mr Brumby and Water Minister Tim Holding had not made putting power underground a requirement of the tendering process.
“This announcement means nothing,” Mr Smith said. “We would all prefer that the powerlines go underground, and in fact that the desalination plant not be built at Wonthaggi at all.
“If he (Mr Brumby) was serious about protecting the properties of landowners and farmers affected by this line, then he would not be leaving it up to the bidders – who will obviously take the cheaper option – to make the decision.”
Eastern Victoria MP Edward O’Donohue said the State Government had left hundreds of farmers and members of the community in limbo by failing to fully commit to burying the powerlines.
He said it was nearly two years since Spring Street had announced its plan to build the desalination plant and was yet to decide on its power source.
“The refusal of the State Government to make its intentions clear demonstrates its lack of understanding and care for the people of West and South Gippsland and its failure to comprehend the productivity of the region’s agricultural farmland,” Mr O’Donohue said. “In light of the devastating bushfires, the case for undergrounding the powerlines has only been strengthened and yet the Brumby Government is still unable to make a decision.”
McMillan MP Russell Broadbent welcomed the announcement but said the State Government appeared to be hedging its bets by making the underground option dependant on bidders’ submissions.
“With the likely announcement of the successful tenderer for the project expected within months these considerations must surely have included the likely cost of the underground option,” he said.