The state's Hindu community has vowed to move heaven and earth to keep high voltage renewable energy power lines away from a Millfield property that is visited by tens of thousands of worshippers annually.
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EnergyCo is investigating the option of installing 70-metre towers, needed for the Hunter Transmission Project, on part of the 550-acre New Gokula Farm.
More than 40,000 Hindus travel from across the state to worship at the temple and shrine located on the property, located 12 kilometres south-west of Cessnock.
"The idea of putting power lines through here is quite sacrilegious because this is not so much a farm as a spiritual temple and community," manager Pratapana said.
"When people come here they wander all over the property. We are not talking about a farm where farmer Joe and his wife live and their friends come to visit every now and then. Sometimes we can have close to 2000 people on the property."
EnergyCo released a preliminary route map for the Hunter Transmission Project, which will link Bayswater and Eraring power stations, late last year.
The proposed 115-kilometre route would run across a combination of mining and industrial land, state forest and private property between Muswellbrook and Lake Macquarie.
The New Gokula property is located on the edge of the preliminary corridor.
The government has set an early 2028 deadline for the multi-billion dollar project, which will play an instrumental role in transporting renewable energy from the New England and Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zones to homes and businesses in the Hunter, Sydney and the Illawarra.
But the Hindu Council of Australia, which represents the state's 250,000-strong Hindu community, said EnergyCo's infrastructure route would desecrate the Millfield site that the community has owned since 1986.
"Featuring massive power lines and having cows and people living near to them with serious incumbent health risks is the antithesis of our values. This would seriously undermine the authenticity of our project," the council's website says.
Pratapana said the devaluation resulting from the installation of the power lines paled in comparison to the disregard for the Hindu community's rights.
"From our side, it's just a serious insult. That's the way people in the Hindu community see it - this is a government that is not sensitive to the interests of the Indian-Hindu community."
An EnergyCo spokesman said the New Gokula community was part of a group of important stakeholders in Millfield for the Hunter Transmission Project .
"The Hunter Transmission Project is in the early stages of planning. We sought public feedback on a preliminary corridor in late 2023 and received more than 250 submissions as part of our early engagement," he said.
"EnergyCo will continue to work with the New Gokula community and keep them informed as the project continues to be refined based on community and stakeholder feedback."
Pratapana said the community's interactions with EnergyCo to date had strongly suggested the agency was intent on installing infrastructure on the property.
"They have basically said this is the site where the lines are going to come through because it's on the most direct route between the power stations" he said.
"They are making all sorts of compromises to protect the vineyards and tourism industry but, in fact, the biggest tourist destination in the Hunter Valley is our farm."
Pratapana also accused EnergyCo of placing a lesser value on the protection of a Hare Krishna temple than surrounding Aboriginal sacred sites.
"It's completely hypocritical that the government says it is ensuring the protection of Aboriginal sites but here we have the largest religious site for the Hindu community in NSW and different rules apply," he said.
In its latest Hunter Transmission Project update, EnergyCo said 250 submissions had received as part of its early engagement on the preliminary corridor.
Forty five per cent of the concerns related to the environment and biodiversity, 34 per cent related to route selection in relation to the use of existing easements, 26 per cent related to the New Gokula Farm, 18 per cent related to impacts on private land and 9 per cent related to Aboriginal cultural heritage.
EnergyCo launched a regional reference group earlier this month to help inform the planning and design of the project.
The group will provide a platform for discussions on crucial aspects of the multi-billion dollar project, including project design, community views, minimising impacts on landholders and the environment and maximising benefits to the wider community.
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Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
