Response to A Path Forward: Developing the Western Australian Government's Aboriginal Empowerment Strategy

Abstract

This submission outlines our response to the Western Australian Government's Aboriginal Empowerment Strategy, highlighting the fundamental importance of affordable, reliable and culturally appropriate energy services to the empowerment of Western Australia's Aboriginal peoples. In identifying robust and culturally appropriate energy services and infrastructure as foundations of Aboriginal empowerment, it calls for; Better support for small-scale renewable energy services in remote communities including repairs and maintenance, upgrades and end-of-life replacements; barriers to Indigenous benefit from renewable energy allocations be removed, including better support for the coming electrification of the transport sector and it's integration into existing energy services and infrastructure. Greater levels of support for native title representative bodies and Aboriginal land owners, including the provision of timely effective legal, commercial, technical and strategic advice regarding the development of large-scale renewable energy projects on their lands.