Bushfire Risk
High voltage transmission lines can have a flashover and cause a fire. The lines can fall and spark in a fire. There is a no fly zone around Transmission lines and firefighters cannot get in to fight a fire by air. Fire trucks cannot operate under High voltage lines because of the risk of sparking through water spray.
Power has to be switched off in the event of a fire near the transmission lines. This can be hard to organise in the heat of a bushfire. Underground lines can operate through a bushfire, the firefighters can go anywhere.
Environmental Risk
Transmission Lines are highly damaging to the environment with land clearing of the easement along the whole length of the line. This can cause great losses to key species of plants and animals. The lines degrade areas of great natural beauty. Transgrid has not done a full environmental assessment of the planned route. No ecological studies done to discover rare flora or fauna. There is substantially less degradation if Underground. The corridor is less than half the width of an above ground line.
High voltage lines emit a constant hum. This is disturbing and has been linked to several cases of severe disease caused by the associated Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF) produced by the lines. There is No noise if the line is underground.
Impact on Agriculture
No interference with precision agriculture which cannot operate accurate GPS systems under high voltage lines.
EMF can cause a drop of 20% production in milking cows and deaths in dairy herds too close to the power lines. They act as a slow poison. There is no EMF if the line is Underground.
Land Values
Devaluation of up to 30% of any property over which the power lines will travel . Even land not hosting a High Voltage line will suffer a decrease in value. Insufficient or no compensation has been offered to adjacent properties. None to those nearby and affected are offered any compensation. Substantially less devaluation if it is Underground. Compulsory acquisition against landholder’s and Council’s wishes.
Landscape
The towers are 80 metres high and will dominate any trees left in the area around the line. This will pollute the landscape and industrialise areas of great natural beauty. No towers if the line is Underground.
We understand that Transgrid is planning HumeLink 2 and 3 in the future. This will be a veritable forest of lines and towers. This is not an ecological landscape, it is a soviet solution.
This is not what we expected from a democratically elected State and Federal Government.
PLEASE HELP US TO PERSUADE THE GOVERNMENT TO PUT THESE LINES UNDERGROUND. JOIN HUME LINK ALLIANCE INC.
In Europe, America and much of the world it is standard practice to go Underground and is regarded WORLDS BEST PRACTICE.
Friday 8th July, 2022
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