Nature & Energy Priorities: Rockhampton

The shift to a clean energy future is well underway, with nearly 40% of Australia’s total electricity supply coming from renewables. As this shift occurs in Central Queensland we must ensure renewable energy projects are designed and implemented in a way that not only safeguards, but benefits our communities and environment.

What are we doing to achieve this?

We want to create a plan for the Rockhampton region to shape the way that renewable energy is built for the better by:

• Running at least six workshops throughout 2025 to collect local knowledge on the threats and opportunities for nature protection in the region
• Talking to as many local community members as possible to ensure everyone gets a say in how best to protect our environment
• Using this knowledge and networks to advocate to government and industry for a well planned transition.

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If you have questions or want to get involved, contact Flynn via [email protected]

What are the project details?

Central Queensland lies at the heart of Queensland's renewable energy transition. Renewable developments would bring the benefits of huge injection of capital and research but would also, like all developments, impact on both our nature and communities. The sad reality is that Queensland's planning frameworks have not protected nature from development of any kind are are not up to the task for the renewable energy transition. We need to do something about this - and that's where this project comes in.

The Nature & Energy Priorities Project will bring Rockhampton locals together to develop a regional plan for environmental protection and restoration through the energy transition. Building renewable energy is critical to avoiding the worst impacts of climate change and can bring local benefits, however we must ensure renewable energy projects are managed well to protect our nature and communities. The only way to achieve this is through local engagement built off local knowledge and interest, that's led by locals. We must be able to have open discussion on both the benefits and concerns to advance the interests of biodiversity and community together.

Why are we doing this?

Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing our ecosystems in CQ. We need to transition to renewable energy, and we’ve already delayed too long. But, poor planning laws are leading to a consistent undervaluing of nature and some renewable developments are negatively affecting biodiversity. We must find a better way forward.

How do we achieve our goals?

We must:

• Bring a wide variety of local stakeholders into the same room together through a series of workshops.
• Better understand environmental threats and solutions specific to our region. This involves collecting local data, identifying important places, ground truthing desktop work, and understanding existing land care projects.
• Identify areas which must be protected, understand thresholds for key species, and set out priorities for regional restoration.
• The process should yield maps, principles and plans for protecting regional environmental priorities, and serve as a model of community engagement for other regions.

Sign up today to get involved! We can't do this without our local community.

You can contact Flynn O'Hallahan, QCC's Regional Environmental Advocate for Rockhampton via [email protected]

This project is funded by the QLD State Government under the Energy Partnerships Framework, and distributed by the Queensland Conservation Council.