Community views under the spotlight in new CSIRO research in Western Australia

With economic and industrial development gaining pace in the Mid West region of Western Australia, CSIRO’s GISERA is undertaking research to understand how energy infrastructure projects might impact community wellbeing. The study will investigate local community views around the perceived risks and benefits of a range of developments, including conventional gas, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and large-scale renewables.

While development projects such as those planned for the Mid West region can provide some benefits to local communities, they can also have negative impacts. These include actual or perceived impacts on property values and aesthetics, health and safety, trust, use of water resources, and the local environment.

Focusing on a number of towns between Geraldton and Perth, researchers will conduct both online surveys and face-to-face interviews with a range of community stakeholders. This will include representatives from the Amangu people of the Yamtji/Marlpa Nation, who are recognised as rights holders across the region.

Key questions that the research team are keen to explore are: whether attitudes towards energy sector development and issues pertaining to trust and fairness are similar in Mid West communities and other regions of Australia; and whether attitudes towards gas projects differ when renewables, conventional gas, manufacturing and CCS are combined in one site.

Read more about this project on the GISERA website.