October 2026

We have frequently highlighted the appalling record of major infrastructure projects in Australia: massive cost blowouts, years of delays, shifting completion dates and taxpayers repeatedly being asked to pick up the bill.

But there is another side to this infrastructure story which gets far less attention.

It is the impact on ordinary families whose homes, farms and livelihoods stand in the way of giant infrastructure ventures.

Ryan Bourke, writing in the Herald Sun on 7 October 2026, reports that 12 Victorian farming families have been fined $814 each after refusing to allow VicGrid representatives onto their properties to conduct surveys for the proposed 480km VNI West high-voltage transmission project.

Some of these farms have been held by the same families for more than 100 years. Among them are fifth-generation farmers Trent and Kate Carter, who asked authorities to reschedule an inspection because it coincided with lambing season and they feared the visit could endanger livestock.

Their request was rejected because the project was deemed “critical energy infrastructure”. They were then fined.

This is where the infrastructure debate becomes very real. It is no longer simply about billions of dollars on government spreadsheets. It is about families facing the prospect of compulsory acquisition, reduced property values, disruption to farming operations and considerable personal stress.

The Carters say the dispute has consumed their family life, while their 13-year-old son is worried there may not be the same farm left for him to inherit.

Other families tell similar stories. Rob Kilpatrick fears the proposed transmission infrastructure through his sheep property will create serious bushfire-management problems.

Colin and Mary Fenton, third-generation farmers on a 103-year-old property near Kerang, were also fined after refusing access. They say their land contains a protected wedge-tailed eagle nest and that their property has already been significantly devalued by the prospect of the transmission project.

Whatever your view on renewable energy or Victoria’s energy policy, there is a legitimate question here about how governments manage major infrastructure and how affected landholders are treated.

And the financial record of VNI West hardly inspires confidence. According to the Herald Sun report, drawing on the Australian Energy Market Operator’s 2025 Electricity Network Options Report, the estimated cost has more than doubled from $3.6 billion to $7.6 billion, with a possible upper estimate of $11.4 billion. The project is also behind schedule.

That pattern is depressingly familiar.

We have seen major government projects announced with impressive promises and optimistic budgets, only for the costs to escalate and timetables to blow out.

But this case illustrates something else. When infrastructure planning goes wrong, the damage is not confined to government budgets. Real people carry the consequences.

Farmers can lose productive land. Families can see the value of properties built up over generations diminished. Children worry about whether the family farm will still exist for them.

Governments may argue these projects serve a wider public purpose. But that does not remove their obligation to listen, negotiate reasonably and treat affected families with respect.

Infrastructure failure is costly enough when taxpayers pay the bill. It is worse when ordinary families are forced to pay the personal price as well.