General News
16 August, 2024
Why Australia needs to switch on people power now
Regional Australians must flick the switch on our future.
The following is from the Voice of Real Australia, a regular newsletter from the ACM network. We invited Liz Ritchie, chief executive of the Regional Australia Institute, to explore the role the regions are playing in Australia's renewable energy rollout. Read Chris Sounness' comments in the article 'Without information, 'a lot of angst' is brewing about renewable projects' that appeared in The Wimmera Mail-Times on August 14.
Australia's transition to net zero emissions will have a profound impact on the nation's economy, our society and the environment - and regional Australia sits at the heart of this change and this challenge.
But the clock is ticking.
It's been almost a decade since the Paris Agreement was adopted, paving the way for a global effort to aim for net zero emissions by 2050.
The federal government has made binding nationwide emission reduction targets, and voluntary commitments to increase renewable electricity generation to 82 per cent by 2030.
The scale and significance of the net zero transformation has been likened to the post-war construction effort.
And regional Australia is critical to this transition. It's where the wind, solar, transmission and battery projects are, and will be built.
To create that new low-carbon power, we also need another type of power: people power.
In just six short years, 240,000 additional workers will be needed across 38 critical occupations. By 2050, we need 600,000. An extraordinary number of these roles will be in the regions.
With those workers come partners, children, families and their all-important skills.
But they will need houses to live in, daycare centres and schools to attend, health and community services to access and reliable telecommunication connections.
Locals will also need to be upskilled, with new career pathways emerging.
The Regional Australia Institute's Regional Job Vacancy Index shows regional Australia has experienced record vacancy rates. In fact, vacancies doubled in the past five years, only showing recent signs of easing.
Population settlement patterns continue to shift. Between 2018 and 2023, the regional population grew by 6.2 per cent.
The RAI's latest Regional Movers Index, powered by the Commonwealth Bank, showed the highest level of city to regional movement in the past 12 months - 20 per cent above pre-pandemic levels.
The regions were caught unawares by this great city-to-country migration supercharged by the pandemic.
Yet, despite this, our nation remains without a commitment to plan for population settlement. As to why not is bewildering to the RAI.
So, regional Australia is facing two transitions simultaneously and they are reshaping our nation. Undoubtedly, this presents both challenge and opportunity - an opportunity not to squander.
If we succeed, it's a win - a win for the almost 40 per cent of Australians who call the regions home and the one in five capital city Australians we know are regionally curious.
But regional Australia cannot and will not deliver what is required for the net zero transition, if it does not have the people, support and resources needed to thrive. This is not a threat. This is a fact.
Our latest body of research, Towards Net Zero: Empowering Regional Communities, released in Canberra this week as part of our Regions Rising national summit, has a very clear narrative: regional communities must understand the need for change, be active partners in local decision-making and share in the benefits.
A juggernaut of energy proponents is either already on the ground in regions or on the way. There is no denying the mixed perceptions, but there is also hope, goodwill and curiosity about the opportunities.
Despite the challenges, regional leaders told us they are building a coalition of change agents at a local level. Importantly, they are highlighting the need to move away from individual landholder benefits to build collective community benefits.
Communities want information on how these projects will impact on them and their economies and how it will be managed.
Is there a plan to ensure more people coming into the region doesn't make service provision worse? How will a new investment impact their business if it bids up wages and attracts workers from other regional businesses?
They also want to know how they can participate in these projects within supply chains and through employment and skills development to create lasting regional development.
Claims about additional local jobs or benefits sharing from projects need to be backed up with actions because, based on previous experience, often people don't believe it.
Regional communities want to "grow their own workforce", creating visible employment pathways for young people, reducing demand for fly and drive-in workforces and stimulating local economies.
Most importantly, regions want investment in key long term infrastructure liveability measures such as housing, workforce, education, childcare and connectivity to build a lasting legacy for their residents.
This will provide better compensation for the enormous role they play in this economic evolution.
Regional Australia is at the forefront of our nation's future. But we need to be prioritised in the minds of powerful decision-makers in government, big business and industries.
Regional Australians must be at the centre of decision-making and experience first-hand the dividend of the investment boom.
If we can use this once-in-a-generation transformation to change lives, communities and society for the better, then that is the best kind of power.