Filmmaker Ian Barry hoped to live out his final years in peace and tranquility on his bush property.
But Mr Barry, who has motor neurone disease, is instead locked in a fight to save his NSW Hunter sanctuary from being damaged by a planned renewable energy zone.
He and his wife Vicki have had a publicised battle with government authority EnergyCo over the Hunter Transmission Project, which would involve the construction of high-voltage lines across part of their property.
Mr Barry has accused EnergyCo of bullying and insensitivity, telling a NSW parliamentary inquiry the stress has only worsened his degenerative condition.
"Given landowners are sacrificing home and land for the greater good, the very least they deserve is generosity in compensation, not mean penny-pinching," Mr Barry said in a pre-recorded statement to the inquiry in Sydney on Tuesday.
"EnergyCo can either keep its bad-boy image ... or grow up and evolve into a noble government department operating on principles of humanity, decency and compassion."
NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe, who has met with Mr Barry, told a previous inquiry that landholders were finding the process challenging, but denied any bullying.
EnergyCo has developed new community consultation guidelines for meaningful engagement, including the use of on-site local staff, according to the government's submission.
An inquiry is examining the impact of renewable energy zones on rural and regional communities, including on their economies, industries and culture.
The zones, which include solar and wind farms, batteries and transmission infrastructure, are planned for the Illawarra, the Hunter, the central west, the southwest and New England.
The NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman has received 24 complaints about the zones, related to "ad-hoc" consultation, placement of transmission lines and lack of transparency in planning.
Consultation tended to be limited to landholders who would host the infrastructure, ombudsman Janine Young said.
"Neighbours feel ignored even though they will have visual, noise and traffic (impacts) and are already experiencing dust impacts," Ms Young told the hearing.
Stress and poor mental health had been reported by farmers, while regional councils were concerned about an influx of workers putting pressure on already stretched local services.
"To build trust in this sector and in the energy transition, we all need to consult, engage and share information and support each other," she said.
NSW Agriculture commissioner Alison Stone said consultation was a "vexed issue", but EnergyCo was examining how it could be more flexible in engaging rural residents.
"Big change does take time and certainly ... land use change in particular, does mean that there are people that take longer to come on the journey," Ms Stone said.
The inquiry is due to hold a hearing in Dubbo on Friday, after the government approved several renewable projects in the Central West-Orana zone in early May.
