General News
9 October, 2024
Council shows support for renewables royalty scheme
Flinders Shire acting mayor Niki Flute says communities are missing out because of a lack of legislation.
Communities impacted by renewable energy projects should receive better compensation than just a few goodwill cheques, says Flinders Shire acting mayor Niki Flute.
She has thrown her support behind a proposal to force renewable energy project proponents to make royalty-style payments to local governments to compensate communities for the added strain the developments placed on local infrastructure and services.
As reported by North West Weekly, the policy proposal by the Remote Area Planning and Development Board (RAPAD), which is led by seven Central Western Queensland councils, attracted strong support at a forum in Barcaldine last month.
With five renewable projects at different stages of development within the Flinders Shire, Cr Flute said there was currently no formal mechanism to ensure local communities were informed in a timely manner and compensated for the potential social and infrastructure impacts from the projects.
She said the abundant use of non-disclosure agreements by project proponents also hampered local government efforts to understand the details of negotiations with landholders impacted by these projects.
Cr Flute said creating a legislative requirement for project proponents to negotiate with local governments would give councils earlier access to the details.
“We are looking for some sort of rules of engagement,” she told North West Weekly.
“There are some community consultation processes in place currently, which is all well and good, but it really just becomes ticks in the box (for the project proponents).
“A few cheques to the footy team or a payment to a community group is always welcome and we do support it. But when it comes down to firm financial commitments for the major impacts, local government is really having to scrap for it.
“These are billion-dollar projects – we want more than just some cents and pennies – we want some firm financial commitments that add real meat to the bone.”
Cr Flute said royalty payments would also assist overcoming a major problem faced by councils with limited ratepayer bases – namely, the legal requirement to develop 10-year infrastructure and economic plans, yet not having a reliable and secure funding stream to fund the actual projects detailed in the reports.
Flinders Shire is reliant on state and federal government grants to fund basic services because it derives only about 12 per cent of its required revenue from rates and levies.
Cr Flute said Flinders Shire had increased its renewable energy rates by 33.3 per cent in its 2024-25 budget because it was the only option currently available to local government to seek some form of compensation to address strains on infrastructure.