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The power cable that could make or break Victoria

The Australian Financial Review (AFR) •
October 30, 2026 • 06:23 AM
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A bitter fight over the future of a 475-kilometre power cable in northern Victoria has turned the state’s election into a referendum on the green transition.

The power cable that could make or break Victoria

A few years ago, Brett Hosking was standing in the middle of a paddock on his property in northern Victoria when he heard a concerned call from his wife. She was looking at a map, she said, of a huge new electricity cable project known as VNI West. If she was interpreting it correctly, it was going to run straight through their property.

Hosking, the former head of the Victorian Farmers Federation, was dumbstruck. Previous versions of the multibillion-dollar energy project had put it more than 100 kilometres from his farm, near the tiny town of Quambatook. Now, the 80-metre towers were set to sit right on top of it.

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