South Gippsland Shire Council advocacy in Canberra

ADVOCACY was at the heart of South Gippsland Shire Council efforts in Canberra during a busy few days last week, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and various Commonwealth ministers and ministerial advisers hearing from Mayor Clare Williams, Deputy Mayor Nathan Hersey, Cr Sarah Gilligan and CEO Kerryn Ellis.

Ensuring South Gippsland receives adequate support for and benefits from, offshore wind energy projects, building communications resilience in the event of emergencies, and further funding to assist Mirboo North’s storm recovery were among the key priorities the council contingent put forward.

South Gippsland Shire Council submitted a couple of motions during the National General Assembly of the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), both motions receiving unanimous support.

“The first one was about advocating that telecommunications become an ‘essential service’ so that in emergencies there’s at least 12 hours of redundancy in the system so that we don’t lose telecommunications in emergencies the way we did in Mirboo North in February,” Ms Ellis said.

The second motion called on the Commonwealth Government to ensure councils directly impacted by new wind energy developments, including South Gippsland Shire, receive the funding support needed for extra infrastructure or facilities required to support offshore wind energy projects.

That funding must come from wind energy proponents or the Commonwealth rather than council or the local community, council argues.

All South Gippsland Shire Council’s advocacy priorities for 2024 were outlined during the week’s discussions with Federal Ministers and advisers.

One idea put forward was the prospect of a ‘payment in lieu of rates’ framework for offshore wind energy generation, with South Gippsland and Wellington Shire Councils working together to promote the initiative that is intended to fund infrastructure and services that directly benefit local communities.

It is already a requirement for onshore electricity generators, like wind and solar, to contribute to local infrastructure through such a scheme but there is no similar framework for offshore wind energy generation.

Ms Ellis said feedback in discussion with Commonwealth representatives has been positive, given the Federal Government’s objectives concerning renewable energy and offshore power generation.

A key message delivered by the council group relates to the benefits that will flow to the Federal Government if it provides the required support to deliver the necessary projects, with Gippsland the first declared Renewable Energy Zone in the country.

“It’s really important that this works in Gippsland so it can be a great example and case study for all the other parts of the country that follow,” Ms Ellis said.

“It’s talking to the government about partnering, and they’re open and receptive to that message.”

While in Canberra, South Gippsland Shire Council representatives also met with National Emergency Management Agency Coordinator-General Brendan Moon to advocate that emergency funding towards Mirboo North’s recovery be processed.

Council submitted an Emergency Recovery claim in April, initially through the Victorian Government, which eventually submitted it to the Federal Government that has indicated it may take another month, and Ms Ellis said council has stressed the process needs to happen faster.

“The claim covers a lot of things, from infrastructure recovery through to community and social support but the key thing we really want them to provide us with as soon as possible is funding for a Community Recovery Officer,” she said.

That officer’s role would be to work locally on the ground to coordinate and support recovery efforts with the community, and then implement local priorities.

South Gippsland Shire Council received funding for two Community Recovery Officers following the June 2021 storm event, with Ms Ellis arguing that this year’s Mirboo North storm was a far more serious emergency event in terms of its impact.

Council is hopeful of making a couple of funding announcements soon, flowing from last year’s advocacy efforts.