Chapter 12: Sustainability, workforce and Indigenous opportunities
Highlights
The sustainable and safe production, supply and consumption of energy is a core social, business and policy imperative. The Australian Government, as well as the states and territories, applies a comprehensive system of regulation to ensure that those goals are achieved.
Better cooperation between different levels of government is required to ensure that environmental regulation is both effective and efficiently applied. Areas in need of further attention are:
- effectively interfacing energy and environmental policy frameworks to promote efficient investment decisions
- improving the effectiveness of project approvals and planning, particularly by removing duplication at all three levels of Australian government
- ensuring that the concerns of communities about energy developments that affect them are addressed through effective engagement and rigorous and transparent regulatory approval processes.
The growth and transformation of Australia’s energy industries will create jobs across a broad range of industries. Current high demand for skilled workers in the energy sector demonstrates that there are many employment opportunities in a range of skills and locations.
Government and industry are working to meet future energy industry skills needs through a combination of education and training, improving workforce participation and mobility, and skilled migration.
The energy and resources sectors play a significant role in creating long-lasting opportunities for Australia’s regional areas by creating jobs, building infrastructure and providing income for local communities. This is particularly important in remote areas.
As part of its Closing the Gap agenda, the Australian Government is working with Indigenous communities, the energy and resources industries, and state and territory governments to improve Indigenous outcomes through education and training as well as access to energy.
An ongoing challenge for government, business and the community is to ensure that Australia’s environmental and cultural heritage is preserved while also ensuring our continued ability to meet future energy needs.
Our continued economic success, coupled with an ageing workforce, is adding to skills and labour pressures across the economy. The energy sector will require a diverse range of professional and trade-related skills in all parts of the energy supply and end-use chain.
Energy-related developments provide enormous economic and social support to regional communities in Australia. This contribution also provides for new opportunities for Australia’s Indigenous communities.
In this section: