Note from Wendy

Hello there!

Welcome back to our monthly newsletter, POWER UP! ....your monthly dose of insights and stories to energize your engagement work.

I want to start with a huge shout-out—connecting with you all has been amazing! Thank you for sharing your ideas; we’re committed (and super excited!) to bringing you the people and topics you genuinely want to hear about and learn from.  On that note, registrations are open for our next PowerHour "Rethinking Renewables & Earning Trust" - check it out here.

We have another exciting bunch of resources here for you this month... and I'm just stepping up onto my soapbox for a minute so read on my friend!  

Is “Presumed Benevolence” the Blind Spot Holding Back Renewable Energy Projects?

I recently came across the term presumed benevolence, first coined by Professor Sara Bice, and it instantly struck a chord. It’s become one of my favourite ways to describe a major issue playing out across regional Australia in the rollout of renewable energy.

So what is it?
Presumed benevolence is the unconscious belief that the energy transition—and the infrastructure to enable it—is so obviously good, so urgently needed, that of course everyone will accept it. No need to explain. No need to listen.

Right now, that assumption is colliding head-on with reality in our regional communities.  In fact, we’re standing on a burning bridge when it comes to regional engagement—as demonstrated by the recent cancellation of the Moonlight Range Wind Farm. We must remember that people don’t experience infrastructure as a public good.  They experience what it means for their land, their livelihood, and their way of life.

There are Companies that are doing this well (shout out to the 'good guys' I know who genuinely care),  building genuine partnerships and co-creating local solutions. But unfortunately, I hear stories too often of those who still operate with presumed benevolence at the core. We see it show up as:

• Assumed acceptance instead of earned trust - Communities don’t want to be tick-boxed. They want to be heard—and meaningfully involved.
• Top-down timelines crush real engagement - You can’t fast-track trust to fit a project schedule—and meaningful engagement needs to be properly resourced from the start.
• Economic benefit ≠ community benefit - Money doesn’t erase feelings of disrespect or disempowerment and promises without follow-through damage credibility (eg. Local content).
• Messaging mismatch - Frame a project as unquestionably positive, and you risk silencing the very conversations that build trust.

So what do people want?

Our research across regional Queensland found that what people want from engagement is quite simple (but not necessarily easy):

• Be curious – seek first to understand, not to tell and sell
• Show respect – for people, communities, businesses, and local knowledge
• Be real – authenticity, honesty, and transparency go further than polished pitches 

These simple but powerful behaviours form the foundation for building the trust and understanding essential to respectful and effective engagement.

At Engaged Outcomes, we help teams build these capabilities through expert-led training that fosters genuine engagement and trusted partnerships. Our approach is co-designed with real rural voices—from industry, agriculture, community, business, and government—so it’s grounded in lived experience, not assumptions.

Internal alignment is essential for consistent relationships and outcomes. If you’re ready to help your team navigate complexity and build lasting connections, let’s talk! 

Until next month, 

Regards, 

Wendy 

Voices from the regions

EmPOWER Podcast

Our emPOWER podcast series provides practical skills and insights to inspire action, better understanding of stakeholders and improved outcomes for people engaging across regional Australia.

EmPOWER is proudly supported by The Energy Charter, a CEO collaboration across the energy sector nationally, delivering better outcomes for customers and communities in the energy transition.

Catch up on our latest episodes here.

PowerHour Virtual Forum

Fuel for Thought: Big Ideas, Local Impact

REPORT ALERT - The Human Side of the Energy Transition (KPMG)

As we always say, the transition has to be about people first... without winning their hearts and minds the wires and poles won't get put up!! 

This KPMG report explores consumer attitudes and perceptions of the energy transition, highlighting how we can collectively put people at the heart - check it out.