Glen Innes Severn Council Mayor Margot Davis is encouraging residents, businesses and community organisations to have their say on the New England Renewable Energy Zone Community and Employment Benefit Program before consultation closes on 18 September.
Council has made two linked submissions to EnergyCo NSW as part of its advocacy for a fair, transparent and locally accountable approach to the New England REZ.
The first, on the Draft New England REZ Access Scheme Declaration, focused on the underlying rules and funding architecture of the REZ.
It addressed transmission infrastructure, Access Scheme fees, administration costs, transparency around community benefit funding, and the treatment of future and cross-boundary infrastructure.
The second, on the Community and Employment Benefit Program, focuses on how those benefits should be shared and invested across the region. Cr Davis said the two submissions were connected, but dealt with different parts of the REZ framework.
“The Declaration submission was about getting the rules right. The CEBP submission is about making sure the benefits are then distributed fairly and transparently,” Cr Davis said.
“Glen Innes Severn is not hosting the major new transmission project, and we are not suggesting our impacts are the same as communities that are.”
“But renewable energy is not new to our community. We have been living alongside renewable energy development for many years, well before the New England REZ was established.”
Council’s CEBP submission proposes a 30/70 funding model that recognises those different levels of impact.
Under the proposal, 30 per cent of available funding would be reserved for LGAs assessed as being most affected by new REZ transmission infrastructure, while 70 per cent would be allocated across all LGAs wholly or partly within the New England REZ.
Cr Davis said the model was designed to recognise greater impacts without excluding other participating communities.
“This is not about every community receiving the same amount,” she said. “It is about having a fair system where communities experiencing greater impacts receive greater recognition, while every participating LGA has a clear pathway to benefit.”
Council is also proposing a guaranteed base allocation, with additional weighting to recognise factors such as transmission infrastructure, renewable development, housing and workforce pressures, impacts on roads and local services, geographic dispersion and the scale of development relative to population. Council is seeking publication of the criteria, data sources and weightings used.
A central part of the submission is that councils and community organisations should not have to compete against other REZ communities simply to receive a share of the funding.
Instead, Council is proposing that geographic allocations be determined first, with local processes then used to decide how eligible funding is invested within each community.
“Communities should not have to win a regional grant competition just to establish whether they receive a share of the benefits,” Cr Davis said.
“EnergyCo should set the eligibility, probity and accountability requirements, but local communities should have a genuine say in determining which
eligible investments will deliver the greatest long-term benefit.”
Council’s submission also supports direct allocations to councils, using existing Community Strategic Plans, Delivery Programs, Operational Plans and community engagement processes to determine local priorities. Dedicated community funding would also remain available within each LGA allocation.
Council is also seeking a clear commitment that CEBP funding will be additional to normal State Government investment and not used to replace infrastructure, services or funding that would ordinarily remain a State responsibility.
Community voices can strengthen the case Cr Davis encouraged Glen Innes Severn residents, businesses, farmers, community groups and young
people to take part in the CEBP consultation before it closes on 18 September.
“The Access Scheme Declaration consultation has closed, but the Community and Employment Benefit Program consultation is still open, and this is the opportunity for our community to have a direct say on how these benefits should be shared.”
“If you support transparent funding, recognition of different levels of impact, local decision-making and a fair pathway to benefit for participating communities, I encourage you to take a few minutes to complete the EnergyCo survey.”
“This framework could shape community investment across the New England REZ for many years, so it is important that EnergyCo hears directly from the communities that will live with and alongside the energy transition.”
“Our position is simple: impact should determine allocation fairly, local communities should determine priorities, and competition between REZ communities should determine neither.”
Complete the EnergyCo Community and Employment Benefit Program survey by 18 September 2026 at: https://www.energyco.nsw.gov.au/our-projects/new-england-rez/community-employmentbenefit- program
Council’s submissions are also available through Council’s website at: https://www.gisc.nsw.gov.au/News-Media/MAYOR-URGES-COMMUNITY-TO-BACK-A-FAIR-ANDTRANSPARENT- REZ-BENEFIT-MODEL
Media Release: Glen Innes Severn Council
