Colbinabbin community members at parliament with Liberal leader Brad Battin, Wendy Lovell, David Davis, Gaelle Broad and Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland.
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Six MPs launched a surprise adjournment campaign, calling on ministers to reject the planning application for the Cooba Solar Farm in parliament.
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During the adjournment section of the April 2 sitting of the legislative council, state members from the National and Liberal party joined forces to call on six different ministers to reject the Cooba Solar Farm planning application.
The Cooba Solar Project involves the construction of a 606ha large solar and battery energy storage system on a 1147ha site at 124 Cornella Church Rd and Plain Rd, Colbinabbin.
The site was chosen by Venn Energy due to its proximity to an existing transmission line that runs underneath the property, allowing for easy connectivity to the grid, along with the site’s solar exposure and clearance of native vegetation.
However, community members, local members and Campaspe Shire Council have actively expressed their doubts about the project since mid-2024.
The adjournment began at about 6pm, when Liberal State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell asked Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny to reject the planning application on the basis the application “contravenes planning guidelines” by taking “valuable agricultural land out of production“ and ruining ”the landscape, values and views“.
“It sits adjacent to major road infrastructure, has good water access from 16 dams on site, is connected to the Colbinabbin-Cornella irrigation pipeline and has soil rated high-quality or good,” she said.
“This is clearly strategic agricultural land that should be protected by planning scheme guidelines.”
Nationals State Member for Northern Victoria Gaelle Broad called on Agriculture Minister Ros Spence to reject the application on the basis the site proposed for the solar facility is situated on “prime agricultural land” at Colbinabbin.
She commented on the location’s “access to irrigation and moderate climate and rainfall” and the developer’s lack of soil testing, which understates the quality for agricultural purposes.
Venn Energy said the solar facility would take up 606ha of the 1000ha it is proposed for.
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“It is areas like Colbinabbin where I ask the Minister for Agriculture to ensure that agricultural values are protected,” she said.
State Member for Southern Metropolitan and opposition leader for the legislative council David Davis called on Energy and Resources Minister Lily D'Ambrosio to ensure “guidelines are adhered to” regarding the project’s transmission and associated battery approach.
He referred to the Solar Energy Facilities: Design and Development Guideline - October 2022, which states a solar facility looking to connect to the network must “have its generator performance standards ... laid out”.
“I am asking (the minister) to make sure that this guideline is adhered to, that the guideline is actually approached in a sensible way and that the terrible impacts of this particular solar farm on the agricultural area, particularly the wine-growing area, are dealt with.”
Liberal State Member for Western Victoria Joe McCracken addressed Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward about concerns of the community regarding the safety of the solar farm and risk posed from an emergency management perspective.
He said he was asking the minister to ensure more consultation occurs with farmers, landowners, interested parties and CFA volunteers to have input into decisions relating to solar farms.
Liberal State Member for North-Eastern Metropolitan Richard Welch addressed Tourism Minister Steve Dimopoulos, asking him to meet with concerned community members to discuss concerns over the tourism impact of the Cooba solar proposal.
He said the impact of the solar farm would disrupt views at neighbouring properties and wineries and destroy their “microclimate and potentially their business’’.
“Locals have spent decades building a future based on wine, food, nature, art and tourism. It is now a sought-after destination, proudly dubbed the up-and-coming Barossa Valley, I am told ... That vision is under serious threat,” he said.
Lastly, Liberal State Member for Western Victoria Bev McArthur addressed Local Government Minister Nick Staikos regarding local government’s authority in the decision process for renewable energy infrastructure.
“This is not just a quirk of policy; it is a betrayal of regional Victoria, where communities bear the brunt of a state-driven renewables agenda they cannot influence,” she said.
“Local councils, the front line of democratic representation, are reduced to being bystanders as renewable projects, wind farms, solar arrays and transmission lines particularly march across their jurisdictions. This is indefensible.”
Watching from the gallery at the evening’s adjournment were members of the Colbinabbin Renewable Action Group, Campaspe Shire Council Cr Tony Marwood and State Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland, who presented a petition to parliament and spoke on the matter in June 2024.
"This project represents an unacceptable threat to our community, our farmers, local businesses and the very foundation of the local economy,“ Ms Cleeland said.
"We cannot stand by while Colbinabbin's future, its vital farmland and its thriving tourism sector are jeopardised.“
The Free Press reached out to Venn Energy for comment and received no response.
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