Monday, 20 April 2026
An ePetition requesting the NSW Government scrap EnergyCo’s transmission line corridor from the Bayswater Power Station to Walcha has reached the 20,000 signatures needed to be scheduled for debate on the floor of Parliament.
Member for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan will present the ePetition to Parliament which was put together by more than 100 farmers who will be forced into giving up their land under the planned transmission route.
“The message is clear; the community does not want this transmission line being built on their land,” Mr Moylan said.
“EnergyCo have failed to properly engage with landowners, communities and leaders from the impacted areas while planning this transmission corridor, and yet the Minns Labor Government continues to disregard the genuine concerns raised by our regional communities.
“This government needs to stop ignoring the people of regional NSW.”
Member for Upper Hunter Dave Layzell said the 20,000 people who signed the ePetition deserve to be heard by the government and responded to.
“Communities across my electorate have been treated appallingly by EnergyCo and under Labor the renewable energy roll out is only getting worse,” Mr Layzell said.
“We have been asking for genuine consultation, transparency and respect, and these basic requests have been ignored by EnergyCo and the Minns Labor Government.”
Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change James Griffin said we have been telling Chris Minns for three years now that regional communities need to be treated as partners and with respect, rather than as an obstacle.
“Every time we’ve raised concerns about cost blowout and community consultation failures, exactly like this one in the New England REZ, the Minns government deflect and don’t want to answer the hard questions,” Mr Griffin said.
“No one is saying the energy transition was going to be easy, but the Minns Government ignoring regional communities is making hard work even harder, for all involved.”
The NSW Opposition previously led a debate on the proposed transmission corridor with a Public Interest Debate held in October 2025.
MEDIA: Electorate Office 6772 5552