emPOWER: Voices of the Regional Energy Shift

Can regions move beyond simply responding to the energy transition and start shaping it?
While much of the national conversation focuses on the politics of renewable energy, regional communities are getting on with the job of managing change, balancing risk and opportunity, and planning for their future.
In this episode, Wendy Agar speaks with Chris Sounness, CEO of Wimmera Southern Mallee Development, about one of Australia's most innovative approaches to regional collaboration.
Together they explore the lessons from the  nationally recognised Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Energy Collaboration, why renewable energy host landholders need support beyond commercial agreements, and why Chris believes it's time to move beyond co-existence and rethink the relationship between agriculture and renewable energy. 
why Chris has coined the term ‘Agri Energy’Together Chris and Wendy explore:
Why collaboration matters during the energy transition.
Lessons from the Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Energy Collaboration.
Supporting renewable energy host landholders.
Why "co-existence" is no longer enough.
How Agri-Energy could help regional Australia thrive.
This episode is part of the Regions at the Helm series, supported by The Energy Charter, exploring how regional communities can help shape better outcomes through the energy transition.
If you work in renewable energy, community engagement, agriculture, local government or regional development, this conversation offers practical insights into how communities, industry and government can work together to shape better outcomes.
 
Produced at ⁠The Podcast Boss⁠ ⁠podcast studio in Brisbane

Our instinct is often to explain more, provide more information or try harder to persuade.
But when emotions are running high, facts alone rarely change minds.
People don't respond to technical risk alone. They respond to how that risk feels. Understanding that difference is at the heart of outrage management.
In this episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar sits down with Kelly Parkinson, who has spent decades helping organisations navigate community outrage during major infrastructure and development projects around the world. Working alongside internationally recognised risk communication expert Peter Sandman, Kelly has helped organisations prevent, reduce and work through community outrage, while training practitioners and leaders to build trust when projects become stuck.
Kelly first joined the emPOWER podcast in Episode 3 to introduce the foundations of Outrage Management. In this conversation, we build on those ideas and continue the discussion from our previous episode, ‘Who Looks After the People Leading Change?’ with Andrew Brier, moving from how we look after ourselves to how we work effectively with others when conversations become difficult.
Together, Wendy and Kelly unpack:
Why facts and evidence rarely reduce outrage on their own• What outrage really is and why understanding it changes everything• Why many of the biggest barriers to good engagement sit inside organisations, not communities• The practical strategies that help build trust when emotions are high• How to recognise the psychological drivers behind people's concerns• Why listening, empathy and validation are often more powerful than persuasion• What great community engagement looks like when conversations become difficult
Whether you work in community engagement, land access, renewable energy, infrastructure, mining or government, this conversation offers practical, evidence-based strategies for navigating difficult conversations with greater confidence, empathy and effectiveness.
This episode is part of our Working in the Middle: Engagement on the Ground During the Energy Transition series, proudly supported by Powerlink Queensland.
 
Produced at ⁠The Podcast Boss⁠ ⁠podcast studio in Brisbane

Community engagement is incredibly rewarding work, but anyone who's done it knows it can also be emotionally demanding.
You're often working with people who are worried, frustrated or uncertain about change, while balancing project pressures, competing expectations and emotionally demanding conversations. The impact is cumulative, and over time it can take a real toll.
In this episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar speaks with Andrew Brier, who has spent decades working at the intersection of communities, government and major energy and resource projects, about the often-overlooked reality of 'working in the middle' and what it really takes to stay safe while helping others navigate change.
Drawing on decades of experience across Queensland's coal seam gas industry and the renewable energy transition, Andrew shares the lessons he's learnt about preparing yourself, recognising risk early and staying effective without carrying the weight of every conversation home.
Together, Wendy and Andrew unpack:
Why community engagement is emotionally demanding work• The hidden risks practitioners face that organisations don't always see• How to care deeply without carrying everything home• What great leaders do to support engagement teams• Lessons from the coal seam gas industry that still matter today• Why preparing yourself is just as important as preparing for the stakeholder
Whether you work in community engagement, land access, renewable energy, infrastructure, mining or government, this conversation offers practical insights into protecting the people leading change.
This episode is part of our Working in the Middle: Engagement on the Ground During the Energy Transition series, proudly supported by Powerlink Queensland.
 
Produced at ⁠The Podcast Boss⁠ ⁠podcast studio in Brisbane

When major projects are proposed, a lot of attention is given to managing risk and avoiding harm, and while those things matter, they're only part of the picture.
What if we asked a different question?
What does it look like to create genuine value for communities?
In this episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar speaks with Professor Sara Bice from the Australian National University and social impact specialist Richard Parsons about the relationship between social licence, social risk, social impact and social value and why the language we use matters.
Together, they explore whether projects can become so focused on managing what could go wrong that they miss opportunities to create meaningful and lasting benefits for communities.
Wendy, Sara and Richard unpack:
The difference between social licence, social risk, social impact and social value• Why social value is about far more than community benefit funds• The relationship between community engagement and social impact assessment• Why trust, participation and legitimacy matter• How projects can move beyond risk management to creating genuine community value• What good practice looks like across the life of a project
This conversation challenges some of the most common assumptions in project development and offers practical insights for people working in renewable energy, infrastructure, government, mining, community engagement and social impact.
This episode is part of our Working in the Middle: Engagement on the Ground During the Energy Transition series, proudly supported by Powerlink Queensland.
 
Produced at ⁠The Podcast Boss⁠ ⁠podcast studio in Brisbane

At its heart, this conversation explores a simple but important idea:
Every region has the right to shape its own pathway through the energy transition.
In the Central-West Orana region of New South Wales - home to Australia’s first declared Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) - communities are navigating large-scale renewable energy development, transmission infrastructure, workforce pressures and major regional change in real time.
In this episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar speaks with Justine Campbell, CEO of Regional Development Australia Orana, and Brooke Watts, founder of Business with Brooke, about what it takes to genuinely work alongside regional communities during times of significant change.
Drawing on their lived experience across the region, they explore why trust, local leadership and meaningful engagement matter so deeply,  and why regional communities want to help shape the future, not simply have change happen to them.
Together, Wendy, Justine and Brooke unpack:• Why no region can be treated as “one voice”• The importance of trust, consistency and genuine relationships• Why young people need to be part of shaping regional futures• What communities are really asking for when it comes to legacy benefits• And what other regions can learn from the Central-West Orana experience
This episode is part of the Regions at the Helm series, supported by The Energy Charter, exploring how regional communities can help shape better outcomes through the energy transition.
If you work in renewable energy, engagement, regional development, government, land access or community leadership, this conversation offers practical insights into how regions can navigate complex change in ways that build trust, strengthen participation and support long-term regional futures.
Produced at ⁠The Podcast Boss⁠ ⁠podcast studio in Brisbane

We often assume that if people just had more information, they’d understand, but in contested environments, communication is rarely just about the facts.
Across the energy transition, many conversations are shaped by something much deeper — trust, identity, social dynamics, lived experience and whether people feel there’s an “us and them” divide.
In this episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar speaks with Dr Rebecca Colvin from Australian National University about what’s really happening underneath community responses to change, and why even well-intentioned communication can land very differently depending on who’s hearing it.
Drawing on her research into the social dynamics of renewable energy conflict, Rebecca explores why people can look at the exact same landscape and see completely different things, how group identity shapes trust and decision-making, and why relationships matter far more than “perfect messaging.”
Together, Wendy and Rebecca unpack:
Why conflict around renewable energy is often about far more than infrastructure
The hidden role of identity, belonging and “us vs them” dynamics
Why you can’t “out-data outrage”
The communication mistakes organisations often make, even with good intentions
What it means to “communicate like a cubist”
Four practical strategies for communicating across difference in contested environments
Why trust is built through relationships, not collateral
This episode is part of our Working in the Middle: Engagement on the Ground During the Energy Transition series, proudly supported by Powerlink Queensland.
If you work in engagement, government, renewable energy, infrastructure, leadership or community development, this conversation offers practical insights into how we navigate complexity, conflict and communication in a more human way.
Produced at ⁠The Podcast Boss⁠ ⁠podcast studio in Brisbane

The energy transition is more than policy, it’s people, place and the future of regional Australia.
At its core, this episode is about connectio: between policy and place, between national ambition and local reality, and between the decisions being made now and the generations who will live with them.
In the Riverina Murray, this is playing out in real time across agriculture, regional industries and local communities, each navigating change in different ways.
In this episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar speaks with Sarimah Hellyar (CEO, Regional Development Australia Murray) and Jessie Armstrong (AGRISHIFT), bringing together both a systems lens and on-the-ground experience.
Together, they explore how the energy transition connects with industrial policy, sovereign capability and the future of regional economies and what that means for communities navigating change in real time.
In this episode, we cover:
What the energy transition looks like on the ground in the Riverina Murray
The opportunities and trade-offs communities are navigating as change accelerates
Why language and narrative shape how regional communities engage
How to move beyond consultation to genuine participation
The role of young people — and what helps them step into decision-making
If you work in renewable energy, transmission, agriculture, government or community engagement, this episode offers practical insight into how to better connect strategy with lived experience and why that matters.
This episode is part of the Regions at the Helm series, supported by The Energy Charter — a national collaboration working with communities, industry and government to deliver better outcomes through the energy transition.
Produced at ⁠The Podcast Boss⁠ ⁠podcast studio in Brisbane

Are we hearing from the community,  or just the people most motivated to speak?
In this episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar is joined by Dr Kieren Moffat (CEO and Co-founder of Voconiq) to unpack a question many of us grapple with in regional Australia:
Who is actually shaping the conversation?
Because while meetings, submissions and media can make it feel like communities are deeply divided, the data tells a different story.  Research from Powerlink Queensland shows most people don’t participate in engagement at all, while a small group shows up again and again.
So what does that mean for how we interpret “community sentiment”? And what if the way we design engagement is part of the problem?
This conversation challenges a core assumption:  Engagement doesn’t just capture community views, it can shape what we hear.
In this episode, we cover:
Why the “loud minority” can dominate — and what that means for decision-making
How common engagement approaches can unintentionally skew what we hear
The impact of engagement fatigue when multiple projects hit a region at once
What better engagement design looks like in practice 
If you work in renewable energy, transmission, stakeholder engagement, land access or project development in regional Australia, this episode offers a clear, practical lens on how to design engagement that reflects the full community — not just the voices we hear most often.
This episode is part of the Working in the Middle: Engagement on the Ground During the Energy Transition series, supported by Powerlink Queensland.
Produced at ⁠The Podcast Boss⁠ ⁠podcast studio in Brisbane
 

What happens when a region doesn’t speak with one voice,  but still has to make decisions about its future?
We often talk about “the regions” as if they’re one place - one voice - but on the ground, that’s just not the reality.
In the New England region of New South Wales, the energy transition is playing out every day across farming communities, regional centres and local councils,with each navigating change in different ways.
Some people are leaning in.  Some are pushing back.  Most are somewhere in the middle, weighing opportunity, disruption and what this means for the long-term future of their region.
So what does it actually take for a region to shape its own pathway through the energy transition?
Designated as a Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) and home to a growing pipeline of renewable and transmission projects, New England is right in the middle of this shift.
In this episode of emPOWER, host Wendy Agar speaks with Councillor Sam Coupland (Mayor of Armidale Regional Council and Chair of the Coalition of Renewable Energy Mayors) about what the transition actually looks like from inside a region working through it in real time.
This conversation goes beyond the headlines to explore what’s really happening as communities balance opportunity, uncertainty and long-term legacy.
In this episode, we cover:
What the New England REZ actually means for communities on the ground
Why most people sit in the middle — not for or against, but weighing trade-offs
The growing tension between policy ambition and lived experience
Why benefits are often promised but not yet landing in communities
The reality of consultation fatigue — and what meaningful engagement looks like instead
How councils are working together through the Coalition of Renewable Energy Mayors
What regional leaders need from industry and government right now
At its heart, this conversation explores a simple idea:  Every region has the right to shape its own pathway through the energy transition.
For developers, engagement professionals, land access teams and policymakers working in regional Australia, this episode offers insight into what it takes to partner thoughtfully with communities in ways that support their aspirations, priorities and identity.
This episode is part of the Regions at the Helm series, supported by The Energy Charter — a national collaboration working with communities, industry and government to deliver better outcomes through the energy transition.
 
Produced at our The Podcast Boss podcast studio in Brisbane

Women make up around 3% of on-site trades roles in the energy sector.
At the same time, Australia’s energy transition is facing one of the largest workforce challenges in its history.
So what needs to change if the industry is serious about attracting, and keeping, women in energy?
In this episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar brings listeners inside the conversations from the PowerUp International Women’s Day event in Kingaroy, where more than 150 women in high-vis and their allies came together to share their experiences of working across the energy sector.
Joining Wendy are two women helping drive change across the industry:
Mel Street — electrical tradie, founder of Lady Tradies and Rocking Chicks, and co-founder of the PowerUp network.
Dr Liz Beavis — engineer working in asset and risk management in renewables and co-chair of the Clean Energy Council’s Onshore Wind and Utility Scale Solar Directorate.
Together they unpack the real issues raised by women working across regional and site-based energy roles, including:
Supporting boots-on-the-ground women in energy• Why mentoring and leadership pathways matter• Practical barriers still affecting women on site• Why the energy transition needs to actively welcome women into the workforce• What industry leaders, project managers and colleagues can do tomorrow to help balance the scales
At its heart, this conversation comes back to one idea:
The energy transition will require a massive workforce, and the industry cannot afford to overlook half the talent available to it.
If you work in renewables, engagement, land access, community relations or project development in regional Australia, this episode offers practical insight into building a stronger, safer and more inclusive energy sector.
The energy transition isn’t just about infrastructure.  It’s about people.
 
Produced at our The Podcast Boss podcast studio in Brisbane