Albanese government's 'First Nations Clean Energy Strategy' slammed for prioritising symbolism over substance
Former Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner Michael Newman argues in a damning report that the strategy represents a wider trend in government energy policy that prioritises appearances over affordability and reliability.
He warns that this 'multi-objective' approach dilutes focus on grid reliability and affordability, and risks leaving Indigenous communities worse off.
'Electricity supply policy needs to be stripped of its multiple, and often incompatible, objectives. The focus must be on delivering reliable, affordable energy - not cultural outcomes,' he states.
The First Nations Clean Energy Strategy, released earlier this year, outlines a vision for Indigenous participation and co-ownership in Australia's energy transition.
But Newman suggests the policy lacks engineering credibility and over-relies on social justice framing, with the report even echoing frustrations heard during community consultations.
'We have more sun than you can poke a stick at, and our trees grow sideways because we have more wind than you can imagine - but our energy is still not reliable,' one participant said.
Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Dan Tehan also dismissed the government's strategy, claiming Labor have no plan to put the First Nations Clean Energy Strategy into action.
'Where is Labor's strategy to deliver cheap, reliable energy for all Australians? The only strategy they had, they walked away from at the last election,' Tehan told Sky News.com.au.
"There is no mention in this document of 'cheaper energy' or Labor's promise to lower energy bills by $275, which has still not been delivered.
'There is no mention of the cost to taxpayers of Labor's ideologically driven renewables only energy policy and how much taxes will have to increase to pay for it. It once again shows Chris Bowen is not up to the job.'
Newman's critique also draws on examples from the Northern Territory, where poorly coordinated solar investments led to instability, system collapse, and rising household costs following the shutdown of gas generation.
'Despite repeated warnings from Electrical Trades Union engineers about the risks of closing the gas-fired Ron Goodin Power Station, the system collapsed,' Newman writes.
'Thanks to poor grid configuration, consumers also suffer frequent disconnections. And as the cost of electricity rises, $20 power cards run out sooner.'
Newman also raises concerns about the emergence of what he calls an 'identity-based industry', arguing that 'dubious claims to Indigenous ancestry' are being used to access clean energy grants, subsidies, and regulatory fast-tracking.
'By embedding reconciliation rhetoric into technical infrastructure planning, we risk weakening both the energy system and the integrity of Indigenous self-determination,' he warns.
Former National President of the Labor Party Warren Mundine weighed in on the Strategy, believing that the action plan has merit but needs to be put into action quickly with a little less pandering to communities, and more focus on "all Australians."
'It seems that it's not being done quick enough. It's great to use lovely language and try and include everyone by stroking their egos, but that's not really going to work if you don't have a concrete plan on what you're going to do,' Mundine told Sky News.com.au.
'This is not about helping all the different communities in Australia that they list by pandering to them, it's about helping everyone. For these types of strategies, there needs to be more action and not appealing to the masses.'
Mundine outlined his way of speeding up the process with regard to the Clean Energy Strategy that will help all Australians.
'Obviously, the place you start is in the regional areas with the gas projects. Get those projects up and running quickly. That creates economic prosperity to the communities in the region, and in turn it supplies gas and creates economic growth in those areas,' he said.
'It's the same regarding residential solar energy which would help get people off diesel, and another would be lifting the ban on uranium mines.
"They are three basic ideas that I have come with on the spot, and they could be done quickly, so, if the government want any other help regarding this strategy, they can give me a call.'
However, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen defended the strategy as essential to building a fairer and more inclusive clean energy economy.
'To me, the energy transformation is one of our best, if not the best, opportunity to ensure that First Nations people benefit from and have some ownership of the wealth we will create as we re-engineer our energy system,' Bowen said during his address to Australian Energy Week in June.
He acknowledged the strategy is still in the early stages, with most funding not yet flowing.
'The Strategy is important, but I don't pretend that it has as yet even started to work. Funding for much of the strategy begins on 1 July.
'Funding is just the start. We will need to work together across our sector to make the strategy a reality.'
He positioned the policy as part of a broader national effort to deliver a modern, lower-emissions energy system.
Still, critics argue that unless the government shifts its focus toward engineering feasibility and measurable delivery outcomes, policies like the First Nations Clean Energy Strategy may struggle to overcome growing scepticism.
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Mr Haddad has been ordered by the court to remove the sermons from social media and not publicly repeat similar statements. The change targets intentional incitement of racial hatred, while existing laws dealt with publicly threatening or inciting violence. "The difficulties in the legislation are well known within the Jewish community, which is why the civil action was commenced under a different threshold," Mr Hudson said. The new law would "fill that gap", he said. Its narrow focus on race has drawn criticism but the law may be expanded to protect other groups in the future. The inquiry examining anti-Semitism in NSW was set up in February after incidents including the firebombing of a non-religious childcare centre near a synagogue and a Jewish primary school in Sydney's east. The state Labor government used the incidents as part of its justification for also expanding anti-protest laws to ban rallies outside places of worship. Australia's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal clashed with politicians at the inquiry over a call to ban pro-Palestine protests she labelled "intimidatory" and "sinister" from city centre streets. Labor MP Stephen Lawrence suggested her comments were an "uncivil way to describe them and the people participating" and risked creating a perception in the Jewish community that the state was letting them down. "These sorts of calls that ultimately aren't grounded in law and reality can have a pernicious effect," he said. Ms Segal did not accept that characterisation but acknowledged she had not attended the protests. She relied on experiences detailed by those in the vicinity who had felt intimidated. "It was really the vehemence and the violence for what was being advocated that I was objecting to," Ms Segal said. "We should be able to go to our city and not feel that. 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More than 1100 hate incidents have been reported so far in 2025 - a third of which were anti-Semitic, compared with just over one-fifth of 1300 incidents reported in 2023. An Islamist preacher who called Jewish people "vile" couldn't face criminal sanctions but new laws might soon allow police to lay charges for similar comments. A ruling in the Federal Court described Wissam Haddad's speech as containing "fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic" tropes and making "perverse generalisations" about Jewish people. But police did not have scope to lay criminal charges when the incident was assessed, a senior officer has revealed. "The legal advice was it wouldn't reach the threshold for prosecution," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told a state parliamentary inquiry on Friday. The prospects of prosecution would change under laws taking effect in August, he added, although the legislation was not retrospective. Mr Haddad has been ordered by the court to remove the sermons from social media and not publicly repeat similar statements. The change targets intentional incitement of racial hatred, while existing laws dealt with publicly threatening or inciting violence. "The difficulties in the legislation are well known within the Jewish community, which is why the civil action was commenced under a different threshold," Mr Hudson said. The new law would "fill that gap", he said. Its narrow focus on race has drawn criticism but the law may be expanded to protect other groups in the future. The inquiry examining anti-Semitism in NSW was set up in February after incidents including the firebombing of a non-religious childcare centre near a synagogue and a Jewish primary school in Sydney's east. The state Labor government used the incidents as part of its justification for also expanding anti-protest laws to ban rallies outside places of worship. Australia's special envoy to combat anti-Semitism Jillian Segal clashed with politicians at the inquiry over a call to ban pro-Palestine protests she labelled "intimidatory" and "sinister" from city centre streets. Labor MP Stephen Lawrence suggested her comments were an "uncivil way to describe them and the people participating" and risked creating a perception in the Jewish community that the state was letting them down. "These sorts of calls that ultimately aren't grounded in law and reality can have a pernicious effect," he said. Ms Segal did not accept that characterisation but acknowledged she had not attended the protests. She relied on experiences detailed by those in the vicinity who had felt intimidated. "It was really the vehemence and the violence for what was being advocated that I was objecting to," Ms Segal said. "We should be able to go to our city and not feel that. "They were being jostled, they weren't allowed to cross, there was shouting … and they were angry they could not access the shops that they wished to." Moriah College principal Miriam Hasofer told the inquiry her school was spending $3.9 million a year on security, a figure that had nearly doubled since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. "Education is constantly disrupted, our teachers are drained, our wellbeing team is overstretched," she said. "Our leaders are operating like a counter-terrorism unit and this has become our normal." The Jewish school, in Sydney's east, faced an average of one security incident per week in 2025, she said. A spate of high-profile attacks over summer included the targeting of a Jewish community leader's former home and the spray-painting of anti-Semitic slurs in various prominent locations. Mr Hudson said reports of anti-Semitism have increased. More than 1100 hate incidents have been reported so far in 2025 - a third of which were anti-Semitic, compared with just over one-fifth of 1300 incidents reported in 2023.
