Remote energy funding demand

WA and the NT want hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds for renewable energy in remote Indigenous communities.

WA Minister for Mines, Bill Johnston. Picture: Matthew Poon

Western Australia and the Northern Territory will call on the federal government to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into renewable energy for remote Indigenous communities when energy ministers from across the country meet on Thursday.

WA has already allocated $350m towards the rollout of renewables and the improvement of services across some of the most isolated Aboriginal communities in the state, and Energy Minister Bill Johnston said he wanted the Commonwealth to match that commitment. The NT, he said, would use the meeting to make a similar demand.

The previous federal government withdrew ongoing funding for remote communities in 2018, and WA has been pushing ever since for additional financial support to help maintain the more than 150 remote communities across the state.

Mr Johnston said a matching of WA’s funding commitment by the Commonwealth would help speed up efforts to lift the standard of services across those communities.

“It‘s a very significant funding contribution that’s being put on the table by the state of Western Australia and we’d love to see the Commonwealth government match our contribution to some of the most disadvantaged Australians as we move towards a low carbon future,” he said.

“It gives an opportunity for Indigenous communities to get improved services out of the application of these new technologies.”

Many of WA’s remote communities currently use diesel generators for electricity, which requires fuel to be regularly trucked to some of the most inaccessible corners of the state.

Mr Johnston said the installation of renewable energy in those communities would have a higher upfront capital cost but would reduce their ongoing operating costs.

WA’s state-owned power supplier, Horizon Power, has already installed renewable energy systems and batteries in 11 remote communities as part of WA’s plans.

Thursday’s meeting is expected to focus heavily on the long-running energy issues on the east coast, but Mr Johnston said the needs of those living in remote communities were forgotten.

While the systems being installed in WA’s remote communities are small-scale, the rollout of major solar and wind projects in regional Australia has sparked concerns from some Indigenous leaders.

Marcia Langton, who leads an Indigenous research team at the University of Melbourne, told The Australian’s Outlook Conference last month that the sheer scale of renewable energy projects could have worse consequences for Indigenous Australians in remote communities than mining land clearing.