Energy Transitions

Find Common Ground

Australia is going through a clean energy transformation! How can we share the benefits?

Local regions are experiencing the roll out of clean energy projects but often without having had community wide conversations about their future and about how they can all share in the benefits of this change. This has been dividing communities.

DemocracyCo is excited to announce a new project – one which will support the Gippsland community (in SE Victoria) to consider how it can benefit from the development of Australia’s first large scale offshore wind farm.

Our partner: Gippsland Climate Change Network

We are pleased to announce Gippsland Climate Change Network (GCCN) as our partner to support and host a large-scale deliberation.

Gippsland coastal communities are at the crux of a difficult time, with the proposed development of offshore windfarms. Gippsland hosts Australia’s first declared Offshore Wind Zone, and in 2024 the Australian Government granted 12 feasibility licences for offshore wind projects off Gippsland’s coast in Victoria.

Change of this scale needs more than just policy frameworks and investment – it requires trust, transparency, and genuine engagement with the communities who will be most affected. As a respected independent voice in the region, GCCN can help to facilitate a process where people are not just informed about but actively involved in shaping Gippsland’s energy future.

By partnering together on this deliberative democracy initiative, both GCCN and DemocracyCo are reinforcing their commitment to empowering local communities.

How deliberative democracy can make a difference.

Engaging communities in their futures is certainly not new and in many instances engagement with local communities has already been happening around the construction of infrastructure to support energy transitions in the area. However, in many instances communities, industry, governments and leaders have continued to struggle with divisions as people grapple with change, and the impacts of that change. 

Deliberative methods seek to prevent these issues or address them early – by bringing together a diversity of the community to work together with industry, government, and leaders to find a way forward together. Deliberative methods involve communities meaningfully and recognise that communities need access to balanced and accurate information to enable them to contribute positively and collaboratively.

Deliberative democracy (like citizen assemblies, citizen juries, people’s houses etc) provides a constructive environment for everyday people to learn deeply about an issue, and bring a diversity of voices to the discussion, not just the usual suspects and loud voices. They enable contemplation and time for participants to consider what needs to be done together.

What impact will this project have?

This project is being designed to deliver lasting impacts for the Region and its people. The impacts we are seeking include:

Support community cohesion and develop future community champions/advocates
Build community understanding and shared responsibility to address complex and polarising issues
Hear directly from a group of representative citizens, not just the loud voices and usual suspects
Receive recommendations on how to move forward, supported by your local community
Build trust and demonstrate you are listening to your local community
Participate in leading-practice engagement and a replicable model that can be used to address other polarising topics.

Next Steps

In the coming months we will be working together to design and deliver a world leading deliberative process.  Citizens from Gippsland’s coastal communities most likely to experience impacts from Australia’s first declared Offshore Wind Zone, will come together to explore the challenges and opportunities for their region.

Darren McCubbin, CEO Gippsland Climate Change Network Inc. said, “Gippsland is big, and our coastal communities are diverse, which means pinpointing which pressure points to focus on for a regional transition is difficult. However, by bringing all voices into the discussion, we can work together to find common ground and an agreed path forward.”

Interested? We'd love to talk...

If you would like to find out more about our partnership with Gippsland Climate Change Network or how DemocracyCo might support an upcoming project, please get in touch.

Contact Dan Popping ~ Director Projects.

Email or call (0424 198 265).