The Nationals’ Member for Northern Victoria Gaelle Broad has thrown her support behind petitions to remove the Dookie district from the Victorian transmission plan.
Ms Broad said the petitions included more than 11,000 signatures from people who wished to see the Dookie section of the Central North Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) removed from the plan altogether.
“Industrialising some of Victoria’s most fertile agricultural land would ruin one of Australia’s most important food-producing landscapes,” Ms Broad told Parliament.
Ms Broad said the Shepparton council had commissioned a review which found wheat and canola yields in the Dookie area were much higher than the Victorian averages.
“The inclusion of this area in the Central North REZ really caught the community by surprise. The draft plan, released in May 2025, showed only a Western Bendigo to Tatura area. The final plan, released in August 2025, added an Eastern Shepparton to Glenrowan section that covered Dookie.
Ms Broad said VicGrid’s case for the eastern section was based on strong solar interest and the proximity to existing transmission.
“The counter case is that these advantages do not outweigh Dookie’s exceptional food production, the flood constraints, public agricultural investment and the cumulative fragmentation risk that can occur, because once you lose prime agricultural land, it can be lost for good.”
Ms Broad said the government still had time to act as the Central North REZ has not been declared and its boundary remains open to consultation. Ms Broad said the Protect Dookie and the Goulburn Valley group had worked hard to highlight the issues.
“They have made their request to decision-makers clear: to remove Dookie and surrounding high-value agricultural land from the proposed Central North renewable energy zone, to ensure the independent findings of the report that has been done by the council are fully considered before any planning decisions are made, to publicly release the locality-specific evidence assessments and data sets relied upon in selecting Dookie and acknowledge and address the consultation deficiencies surrounding Dookie’s inclusion, and to strengthen planning protections for strategically significant agricultural land before future renewable energy zone boundaries are finalised.”
The Nationals’ Member for Shepparton, Kim O’Keeffe has also been a fierce advocate and voice for the Dookie community.
“It is critical that we protect our prime agricultural land and ensure that a fair process occurs.
“That did not happen here, and the impact has had a significant impact on the landowners and broader community, evident with the incredible response to the petition and the attendance at public meetings.”
You can view Gaelle’s contribution in Parliament here: Hansard search – Parliament of Victoria
Media Contact: Linda Barrow 0484 303 764 linda.barrow@parliament.vic.gov.au
