Powerlines and potatoes: the renewable energy transmission project causing angst in central Victoria

Many different handmade signs can be seen along properties in Victoria’s Blampied, but they send the same message – bitter opposition to an above-ground powerline project. Photograph: Tim McGlone

For the past year, “PISS OFF AUSNET” has been expertly mown into the rolling green hills at Blampied in Victoria’s central highlands. The quaint, 157-year-old Swiss Mountain Hotel has panoramic views of the scene, which is surrounded by farmland.

Despite the serenity of the setting, the message reveals a community of farmers and tourism stakeholders allied in a dogfight against the company behind the Western Victorian Transmission Network Project (WVTNP).