Aboriginal land councils have a critical role to play in Australia’s Net Zero transition and in accelerating progress on renewable energy targets, a new report published by the Australian Public Policy Institute (APPI) argues.
Supported by an APPI Policy Challenge Grant, Local Aboriginal Land Council Powershift was authored by a joint research team from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). It outlines a range of practical steps that the NSW Government could take to support land councils in bolstering renewable energy projects across various settings.
“Aboriginal land councils own and manage a significant amount of land, much of it well-suited to renewable energy projects, including wind and solar energy,” said Professor Heidi Norman, lead researcher from UNSW and co-author of the report. “With the right policy levers and support, there is a powerful opportunity to enable the leadership and participation of Aboriginal land councils in this energy transformation.”
With the right policy levers and support, there is a powerful opportunity to enable the leadership and participation of Aboriginal land councils in this energy transformation.
Professor Heidi Norman - Lead Researcher, UNSW
Activating the Aboriginal land estate presents a significant opportunity to meet a range of government priorities, but barriers remain that require urgent action. These range from limited capacity and resources, restricted networks to support planning and governance, and a lack of incentives for energy partners to better utilise the Aboriginal land estate.
“The case studies outlined in this report of Brewarrina, Hay, and Tibooburra reflect the synergies between local needs and government priorities – supporting regional grid reliability, accelerating the development of Renewable Energy Zones, and ensuring that First Nations outcomes are properly accounted for in infrastructure planning,” said Dr Chris Briggs, co-author of the report from the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures. “Our findings highlight a range of opportunities across the Aboriginal land estate and highlight practical policy solutions to support locally-led objectives.”
The insights offered here are highly relevant to ongoing efforts to embed First Nations participation in the energy transition, providing a valuable evidence base for future policy development.
Jo Attwooll- Director of Grants and Fellows, APPI
“This project is a strong example of the kind of policy development research our Policy Challenge Grant program is designed to support: rigorous, applied work from joint-university project teams that speaks directly to current government priorities,” said Jo Attwooll, Director of Grants and Fellows at APPI. “The insights offered here are highly relevant to ongoing efforts to embed First Nations participation in the energy transition, providing a valuable evidence base for future policy development.”
