Hundreds of angry farmers have converged on the Victorian premier’s home seat in a protest over proposed renewable energy infrastructure.
Premier Jacinta Allan was in Bendigo for a Rural Press Club event where she announced $20 million in grants for tiny towns.
But she arrived to scores of farmers who do not want transmission lines, mega batteries and mines in their backyards.
“There are communities all over the state of Victoria fighting wind turbines, mining, solar factories, battery installations, everything,” Dederang farmer Ms McEvoy told AAP.
During her address to the club inside the All Seasons Hotel, the premier said regional communities, primary producers and farmers were “the most exposed to the challenges of climate change”.
“Part of the answer to that is delivering more renewable energy,” she said.
According to Ms McEvoy, the premier did not address the crowd on her way out of the event.
“She just ducked out, got into a car and drove off,” she said.
“We were totally ignored by our premier, who’s supposed to care about all people in her state.”
The Dederang farmer is fighting against the construction of two battery energy storage systems in her town; one on a neighbouring property next to two bushfire management overlays and backing directly onto bushland.