Indigenous Australians will get cheaper, cleaner power and access to jobs and training under a strategy that honours a 2022 election commitment.
Launching the five-year blueprint with energy ministers in Adelaide on Friday, co-chair of the First Nations Clean Energy Network Karrina Nolan said it gave industry the green light to step up and commit to genuine partnerships across Australia.
"The First Nations Clean Energy Strategy is a signal to the First Nations community that government is backing us, and a signal to industry saying when you prioritise First Nations partnerships, the government will also back you," she said.
Developed by hundreds of Indigenous, industry and government leaders, Ms Nolan said the strategy honoured a federal election commitment to address access to affordable power and ensure benefit sharing, partnerships, and First Nations-led projects.
"Equity and strong partnerships are the purest form of consent, reducing risk, cost and delay," she said.
With forecasts warning of a hotter, wetter summer, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) told ministers work was under way to secure additional reserves and to minimise risks to energy security and reliability.
Potential expanded powers for the market operator to address East Coast gas supply issues - without compromising export contracts - are also in the works, the communique issued after the meeting of energy and climate ministers said.
The gas industry slammed ministers for failing to commit to concrete actions to address looming shortfalls in eastern Australia.
“Without clear parameters for the proposed work, the risk of further interventions will only heighten sovereign risk concerns and deter critically needed investment in new gas supply," Australian Energy Producers chief executive Samantha McCulloch said.
"The Australian Energy Market Operator and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission are very clear on what needs to be done, and what’s at stake."
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told reporters in Kiama the "reality of what we're dealing with at the moment" was that NSW and Victoria were signing up to extending the life of coal-fired power stations.
"We're very strong supporters of renewables but we can't pretend that the lights here work of a night-time without a baseload power, and if coal is coming out of the system, we certainly need more gas," he said.
Mr Dutton also doubled down on plans for "24/7" baseload nuclear power, promising to release coalition costings "next week".
