Australia is on the cusp of building more renewable infrastructure in the next decade than in the previous three combined, but the way we build it could make or break regional communities. One of the biggest challenges isn’t turbines or a transmission towers, it’s housing: where will thousands of construction workers live in towns already in a housing crisis. A new report from RE-Alliance argues worker accommodation doesn’t have to be a burden — it can become an important community benefit that a project leaves behind. From refurbishing disused aged-care homes in Wellington, to turning workforce villages into future suburbs in Rockhampton and Gracemere, to councils like Uralla planning for housing long before the workers arrive, there’s a shift happening in how some developers think about construction. RE-Alliance’s national director, Andrew Bray, discusses how the energy transition can bring a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
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Australia is on the cusp of building more renewable infrastructure in the next decade than in the previous three combined, but the way we build it could make or break regional communities. One of the biggest challenges isn’t turbines or a transmission towers, it’s housing: where will thousands of construction workers live in towns already in a housing crisis. A new report from RE-Alliance argues worker accommodation doesn’t have to be a burden — it can become an important community benefit that a project leaves behind. From refurbishing disused aged-care homes in Wellington, to turning workforce villages into future suburbs in Rockhampton and Gracemere, to councils like Uralla planning for housing long before the workers arrive, there’s a shift happening in how some developers think about construction. RE-Alliance’s national director, Andrew Bray, discusses how the energy transition can bring a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Weekly power cuts - the scandal of prepaid electricity in First Nations communities
SwitchedOn Australia
40 minutes 34 seconds
3 weeks ago
Weekly power cuts - the scandal of prepaid electricity in First Nations communities
Tens of thousands of First Nations households across northern Australia are living with the constant threat of power cuts — some being disconnected from electricity nearly every week. Lauren Mellor from Original Power and Dr Tom Longden from Western Sydney University discuss their new report, The Right to Power – Keeping First Nations Communities on Prepayment Connected, which exposes the staggering human and systemic toll of prepaid electricity systems. They reveal how prepayment — a system often imposed without consent and designed to shift financial risk from retailers to consumers — is leaving families in the dark, often during extreme heat. They discuss the failures of retailers to protect vulnerable customers, the ‘racialised’ nature of prepayment rollouts, and the reforms needed to keep communities connected. From automatic hardship concessions to heatwave disconnection bans and community solar programs, they argue it’s time to end a two-tiered energy system that no other Australians would tolerate.
SwitchedOn Australia
Australia is on the cusp of building more renewable infrastructure in the next decade than in the previous three combined, but the way we build it could make or break regional communities. One of the biggest challenges isn’t turbines or a transmission towers, it’s housing: where will thousands of construction workers live in towns already in a housing crisis. A new report from RE-Alliance argues worker accommodation doesn’t have to be a burden — it can become an important community benefit that a project leaves behind. From refurbishing disused aged-care homes in Wellington, to turning workforce villages into future suburbs in Rockhampton and Gracemere, to councils like Uralla planning for housing long before the workers arrive, there’s a shift happening in how some developers think about construction. RE-Alliance’s national director, Andrew Bray, discusses how the energy transition can bring a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
