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BULOKE and Northern Grampians shire councils warn the VNI West transmission project could compete with local employers for the region's existing workers, rather than create new local jobs.
The project's Environment Effects Statement (EES) shows a gulf between the benefits of VNI West to the state and the benefits to the communities that will host it.
During construction, the project is expected to employ more than 700 workers across Victoria. By contrast, it is expected to support 30 full-time-equivalent jobs a year, shared across the four council areas.
Buloke Shire mayor Graeme Milne said the lack of jobs expected to be available in the council areas impacted by the VNI West route was in stark contrast to the claims the State Government was making about the benefits of renewable energy to regional Victoria.
In June 2026, the government announced the Victorian Energy Jobs Plan with the headline “Our $18 Billion Energy Jobs Guarantee to Regional Victoria”.
Cr Milne said the EES belied this claim and illustrated why locals were deeply sceptical about the benefits of the energy transition for them and their communities.
He said the competition for labour posed a great risk to the community.
The North-Western Victoria Energy & Mining Impact and Readiness Study, commissioned by the region's nine councils, calls competition for labour "the key potential economic disbenefit to mitigate". With high workforce participation and low population growth, the region has no significant reserve of workers to draw on.
Cr Milne said the lack of housing availability in the region was already a major constraint on economic activity. The Readiness Strategy found that rental vacancy across key towns was effectively zero, at 0% to 1.2% as of August 2025.
He said without more housing being made available in the region, workers were far more likely to be pulled from agriculture and other local employers, leaving vacancies that were hard to fill rather than creating new jobs.
Cr Milne said the community was being asked to carry the impacts without evidence of a lasting local benefit.
“Our community is being asked to host the towers, the construction traffic and the disruption,” he said.
"What we haven't been shown is evidence that local people will get lasting jobs in return. Our farmers, contractors and small businesses already struggle to find staff, and this project will make that harder."
Northern Grampians Shire Council deputy mayor Justine Hide said the project needed to deliver tangible economic benefits for the communities along its route.
“The real test is whether this project leaves a positive economic legacy in the towns and rural communities along its route,” she said.
"That requires deliberate investment in local skills, businesses and workforce capacity before construction begins.
“VicGrid and the Victorian Government need to make local employment, procurement, apprenticeships and training measurable project commitments, supported by early investment in housing and workforce planning.”
With public review of the project's EES closing on November 16, 2026, both councils are calling on VicGrid and the Victorian Government to implement:
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For further information contact:
Northern Grampians Shire Council
Coordinator Communications – Steff Cairns
Phone: (03) 5358 8700
E-mail: stephanie.cairns@ngshire.vic.gov.au
Buloke Shire Council
Phone: 1300 520 520
E-mail: media@buloke.vic.gov.au
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