First Nations-led energy transition in NSW
Indigenous Land and Justice Research Group
.cropimg.width=700.crop=video.jpg "Brewarinna Local Aboriginal Land Council renewable energy summit participants")
What
The UNSW Indigenous Land and Justice Research Group (ILJ) works with and for Indigenous landholders, supporting Local Aboriginal Land Councils to play a leading role in the clean energy transition and in generating prosperity through sustainable enterprises and care for Country. The team joined UNSW in 2024 after five years of research on land justice at UTS.
This project brings together a cross-disciplinary team to work with Local Aboriginal Land Councils across New South Wales, exploring how renewable energy can support Aboriginal land rights and communities. It identifies where energy projects could occur and the opportunities they may create, including jobs, local enterprises and care for Country. The team has developed tools and resources to support informed decision-making about if, where and how projects proceed, with a focus on ensuring the energy transition delivers real benefits rather than repeating patterns of extraction and dispossession.
ILJ also aims to foster emerging Indigenous scholarship, build the capacity of non-Indigenous staff and students to work in genuine partnership with Indigenous communities, and create opportunities for collaboration. Their work integrates Indigenous knowledges and methodologies, foregrounding Indigenous perspectives and aspirations for the future.
Who
- The ILJ research team working on this project consists of:
- Prof. Heidi Norman, Director
- Dr Anne Maree Payne, Senior Research Fellow
- Therese Apolonio, Research Coordinator
- Nghaeria Roberts, Administration Officer
- The ILJ engages in cross-disciplinary collaboration with research from UNSW Engineering, including:
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering:
- A/Prof. Mohsen Kalantari
- Jidnyasa Patil, Research Fellow
- Jiacheng Liu, Research Fellow
- School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering:
- Anna Cain, Senior Lecturer
- Jonah Bedford, Research Assistant
- UNSW Digital Grid Futures Institute
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering:
- The team works with external bodies including:
- Brewarrina LALC
- Tibooburra LALC
- Hay LALC
- Wellington LALC
- Mudgee LALC
- Gilgandra LALC
- Dubbo LALC
- Narromine LALC
- Tamworth LALC
- First Nations Clean Energy Network
- NSW Aboriginal Land Council
- University of Technology Sydney
- NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy and the Environment
- Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy and Environment
- Australian Public Policy Institute
- Energy Co NSW
- Finity Consulting
How
Since its move to UNSW, ILJ has been part of the School of Humanities and Languages in the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, where it has received operational funding. In addition to this resourcing, ILJ has also received research grants, including a 2023 Australian Public Policy Institute Policy Challenge Grant for the project ‘Economic empowerment of First Nations people in the transition to Net Zero’, a 2024 grant from Energy Co NSW to deliver capacity building workshops for Aboriginal organisations in the Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone, and an ARC Linkage Grant for the project ‘Aboriginal-led pathways to community benefit on Aboriginal land’ (2025–2028).
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