WANGARATTA’S federal independent MP Helen Haines (MHR, Indi) wants a 10-year mega fund to be established that councils and community groups can access to build small to medium clean energy facilities.
And she’s suggested bigger renewable energy facilities could harness greater community desire if a legislated buy-in for local investors is threaded into future planning permit conditions for larger corporate developers.
Dr Haines spoke at a Re-energise Australia: A Clean Jobs Summit, hosted by Cities Power Partnership, which attracted 330 attendees online this week, showcasing their rhetoric for a cleaner Australia.