emPOWER: Voices of the Regional Energy Shift

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 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...

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 rel...

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.

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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 Re...

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 n...

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. ...

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 navig...

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 Kingaro...

Across regional Australia, communities are increasingly asking a simple question: how do we know which energy developers we can trust?

As renewable energy and transmission projects accelerate, trust between industry and regional communities has become one of the defining issues of the energy transition.

One of the most significant responses to that challenge is the Developer Rating Scheme (DRS) — a new initiative designed to ...

In this thought-leaders episode of emPOWER, host Wendy Agar speaks with one of Australia’s most experienced energy leaders — Paul Binsted, Chair of Energy Corporation of NSW and former Chair of Stanwell Corporation in Queensland.

With deep experience across corporate finance, infrastructure, generation, and transmission,Paul brings unmatched insight into the reality of Australia’s energy transition. In this conver...

In this thought-leaders episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar speaks with David Shankey, CEO of the Net Zero Economy Authority, the national body helping Australia’s regions and communities navigate the shift to a net zero emissions economy.

Before leading the Authority, David was Deputy Director-General at Queensland’s Department of Energy and Public Works, where he built a reputation for his deep expertise in energy and clim...

In this thought-leaders episode of emPOWER, host Wendy Agar speaks with two passionate regional advocates — Mayor Andrew Smith from Western Downs Regional Council in Queensland and Tracy Lefroy, former Shire President of Moora in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt — about what it takes to lead communities through change in Australia’s energy transition.

While their regions are at different stages of renewable ene...

In this episode, Wendy Agar speaks with Andy Bray, CEO of RE-Alliance, about a critical question for Australia’s energy transition: how can we meet national energy needs while ensuring regional communities genuinely benefit?

Andy highlights that while the silent majority support renewable energy, this support is conditional—people want to understand what the transition means for their region.

Drawing on RE-Alliance&rsqu...

In this thought leaders episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar speaks with Michael Katz, CEO of RELA, about one of the biggest questions in Australia’s energy transition: how do we meet national energy needs without sidelining the farmers and communities who host the projects?

Michael doesn’t mince words. His vision is clear: landholders must be partners, not bystanders. As he puts it, “everyone benefits or loses together...

In this thought leaders episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar speaks with Chris O’Keefe, National Spokesperson for the Clean Energy Council. With his broadcaster’s clarity, Chris explores how Australia can meet renewable energy targets while ensuring regional communities hosting projects experience lasting benefits.

From his role at the Clean Energy Council, Chris shares insights on:

• Why regio...

In this episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar sits down with Karen Cain—a Gippsland farmer, former CEO of the Latrobe Valley Authority, and now an international researcher and advisor on the energy transition. Karen’s career has been shaped by her commitment to helping regions navigate big change while building on their strengths.

From her vantage point in Gippsland—an energy-producing powerhouse for more than 130 years&...

In this episode of emPOWER, Wendy Agar sits down with Matt Charles-Jones (MCJ) and Matt Grogan from Yackandandah, Victoria, to explore how a small regional town has taken charge of its energy future. Both deeply involved in the Totally Renewable Yackandandah (TRY) movement, they share practical lessons on how communities can embrace renewable energy, drive local action, and create meaningful change.

Reflecting on Cathy McGowan&rsqu...

In this episode, Wendy Agar sits down with strategic communications expert Joanna Stevens, founder of Premier Strategy, to unpack what it takes to genuinely work with—not just in—regional communities. With decades of experience across journalism, government communications, and corporate engagement in infrastructure and renewables, Jo and her team deliver engagement services across Australia. She brings sh...