Yass Valley and HumeLink ‘host Councils’ push for community benefits
Published on 07 May 2025
Yass Valley Mayor Jasmin Jones met with NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe MLC together with the four other Councils from the Canberra Region Joint Organisation (CRJO) and neighbouring shire who will be impacted by the massive Humelink powerline and tower infrastructure. Together, the Councils made a compelling case for community benefit sharing payments to ‘host Councils’, similar to the compensation provided to individual landowners over the life of the project.
Picture: Penny Sharpe (third from left) with Mayors from the region's five host Councils affected by Humelink.
Councils in the Snowy Valleys, Upper Lachlan Shire, Yass Valley, Wagga Wagga City, and Cootamundra Gundagai Regional areas, put forward a compelling advocacy proposal to ensure that local communities hosting the transmission lines receive substantial and ongoing benefits.
“We are grateful to Minister Sharpe for her willingness to come to the region and listen to our Mayors’ proposal for community benefit-sharing” said Cr Russell Fitzpatrick, Chair of the Canberra Region Joint Organisation.
Landowners are set to receive $10,000 per year (in 2022 dollars) for each kilometre of transmission lines to pass through their properties, for 20 years.
Councils are proposing a similar amount be paid to host Councils, to help pay for council-provided infrastructure and services, provide intergenerational benefit, and leave a legacy for local host communities long after construction crews have pulled out.
The Councils are also calling on the NSW Government to establish a community benefit-sharing payments scheme for developers of future transmission lines and energy projects in all areas of the state, building on state government work to ensure local benefits in renewable energy zones.
Jasmin Jones, Mayor of Yass Valley Council, said: “Rural amenity is a major reason people settle in regional areas like Yass Valley and local communities need to be able to balance negative amenity impacts with benefits achieved through financial contribution of the developers”.
“Despite Yass Valley Council’s efforts to protect the rural nature of our region via buffer zones around development and borders with the ACT, state significant developments are approved”, continued Mayor Jones. “Our communities, as well as the highly successful agricultural and wine tourism sector, are at risk from industrialisation. Councils' submissions to have payments to host Councils equalling 1% of the capital cost of the HumeLink project were unsuccessful - so we now plan to seek contributions from Transgrid over the operating life of the transmission lines in our region.”
Transgrid has now received Federal and State approvals for its HumeLink project, which involves constructing approximately 365 km of transmission lines across the five local government areas.
While Transgrid has a community partnerships program offering small grants, and the HumeLink project has a community benefits and investment plan, these focus more on offsetting construction impacts rather than providing broad, long-term community benefits.
Unlike other developers and landholders who pay council rates, there is no requirement for Transgrid to make payments to councils to contribute towards long-term broader community benefits.
Cr Fitzpatrick said: “Minister Sharpe acknowledged the need for broad benefits to host communities. She encouraged the Councils to continue working together to advocate to Transgrid for their communities, and said she will do what she can to support that.”
“Minister Sharpe also committed to including the concept in the Government’s considerations for ensuring local benefits for host communities in areas outside renewable energy zones.”
“She graciously thanked the five Councils for their positive approach to the meeting and the advocacy proposal, and expressed her willingness to continue discussions”.