Gladstone Regional Council endorses Economic Transition Roadmap, 10-year plan to become renewable energy superpower in Central Queensland

“We don't want to wait”: Central Queensland council at heart of Australia’s resources sector launches ambitious ‘road map’ to support community transforming economy into renewable energy superhub. FULL DETAILS

A Central Queensland council has launched a nation-first ‘transition roadmap’ to outline how the region can capitalise on emerging industries and embrace its transformation into a renewable energy superpower.

Gladstone Regional Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to adopt its 10-year Economic Transition Roadmap which will seek to ensure a positive economic transition for the community and position itself as an attractive location for clean energy technology and investment.

The council developed the roadmap in partnership with The Next Economy Australia, following two years of research and engagement with more than 220 community, government, and industry stakeholders.

The Port of Gladstone’s RG Tanna Coal Terminal, where four wharves are used to export cokingcoal to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Italy and France. Picture: Dan Peled.

The plan outlines key themes including energy security, affordability, establishing the hydrogen industry, diversifying the economy, supporting the growth and development of the local workforce, community benefits, and protecting natural resources.

Despite reported divisions among councillors when the journey began in 2020, the council now stands united in acknowledging the need for industries to manage the shift away from fossil fuels and expand its existing industrial base to embrace new industry.

Gladstone Regional Council Mayor Matt Burnett said the road map not only identified council’s role in the energy transition but also discussed how the state and federal government could support the region in the coming decade.

The Next Economy CEO, Dr Amanda Cahill and Gladstone Regional Council Mayor, Matt Burnett at the launch of the Gladstone Region Economic Transition Roadmap. Picture: Nilsson Jones

“Advocacy is going to be the biggest part for us, but also making sure our community’s different voices are heard,” Mr Burnett said.

“We’ve been through the booms of LNG where not so many times we were listened to from state and federal governments when we knew what was going to happen,” he said.

“My community is very proud of their industrial heritage, but we can sit back and wait and let other levels of government determine our future, or let industries determine whether they’re going to invest, but we don't want to wait.

“If we didn’t act, we could either let someone else do it or we get left behind.”

Major local employers, such as Rio Tinto who operate Yarwun, Boyne Smelters and Queensland Alumina Limited (pictured) in Gladstone, already have ambitious emission reduction targets. Picture: Dan Peled

The Next Economy CEO, Dr Amanda Cahill, said the process was never about shutting down the coal industry or even about decarbonising the economy, but rather about protecting the Gladstone region’s viability as an industrial hub in the future.

“This wasn’t an easy decision, but at a time when very few people wanted to talk about it, Council were ahead of their time,” Dr Cahill said.

“They (council) didn’t just focus on technical aspects … they decided it was more important to start a conversation with the community, industry, and training providers about how they wanted it to develop over time and where the economic opportunities and risks were.”

The Next Economy's Energy Program Director, Angela Heck and CEO, Dr Amanda Cahill as the Roadmap was endorsed unanimously by Gladstone Regional Council. Picture: Nilsson Jones

Dr Cahill said the consultation process revealed that “business as usual was not going to cut it”, and development would require investing in the region as a whole to establish good housing, health care, aged care, and education.

She said services and infrastructure were not going to just be “nice to have” and would actually determine which regions industries invested in long-term.

“Workers are the people who are going to come here, and if you’re a young family in Brisbane and you can’t have a baby in Gladstone, are you going to chose to fly in, fly out or are you actually going to move here and invest in the region,” she said.

The Next Economy CEO, Dr Amanda Cahill and Gladstone Regional Council Mayor, Matt Burnett at the launch of the Gladstone Region Economic Transition Roadmap. Picture: Nilsson Jones

The Roadmap also flagged the region was facing a skills and labour shortage across several industries, including renewable and manufacturing, and suggested innovative approaches are needed to support locals not actively engaged in paid work.