GPSA Says SA Grain Growers Deserve The Same Compensation Offered Interstate For Hosting Major Energy Infrastructure
The fight over the Northern Transmission Project is far from over, with Grain Producers South Australia now drawing a line in the sand over compensation for affected farmers.
After months of community backlash about the proposed transmission corridors cutting through productive cropping land across the Mid North and Adelaide Plains, GPSA says South Australian grain producers are still being offered a worse deal than landholders interstate.
And they say that has to change.
The Northern Transmission Project has already sparked major concern in farming communities around Eudunda, Riverton, Saddleworth, Kapunda, Freeling and surrounding districts, with residents previously pushing back against proposed corridors running through some of the state’s best grain-growing country.
Earlier this year, community pressure forced ElectraNet to investigate new eastern route options after widespread opposition to the original four corridors.
Now, compensation has emerged as one of the biggest sticking points.
Fair Compensation Becoming A Major Issue For SA Grain Growers
GPSA Chief Executive Officer Brad Perry said grain producers were not against improving South Australia’s energy network or future renewable projects, but they should not be left carrying the long-term burden without fairer treatment.
“Grain producers are not saying no to progress, but we are saying no to unfairness and the continued sacrificing of productive cropping land without adequate compensation,” he said.
GPSA surveyed more than 1,000 grain producers across South Australia, with 85 per cent supporting compensation models similar to those now being offered in other states, including ongoing annual payments for hosting transmission infrastructure.
Without those kinds of arrangements, almost 70 per cent of surveyed growers said they were unlikely to voluntarily allow renewable energy infrastructure on their properties.
Mr Perry said the issue goes well beyond the initial construction phase.
“These towers do not disappear after construction,” he said.
“They remain on properties for generations, affecting machinery movement, cropping efficiency, aerial spraying, future land use flexibility, biosecurity management, farm planning and potentially land value.”
GPSA says other states are increasingly introducing stronger protections and fairer compensation systems for landholders hosting major energy infrastructure, while South Australian producers are still operating under outdated arrangements.
“It should not matter whether a transmission tower is built in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales or Queensland, compensation should be equitable,” Mr Perry said.
Northern Transmission Project Concerns Continue Across Cropping Regions
The Northern Transmission Project is designed to strengthen South Australia’s electricity network between the Upper Spencer Gulf, Mid North and Adelaide’s northern suburbs as part of the state’s renewable energy transition.
But for many regional landholders, the debate has increasingly become about who carries the cost of that transition.
GPSA says it remains willing to work constructively with ElectraNet and the Government, but says meaningful changes to compensation arrangements must happen before the organisation could support any proposed route in its current form.
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