Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Project: Community

The Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Project pays its respect to the Traditional Custodians of Country, their Elders—past and present, and acknowledges their ancestral connection to the land, seas, and waterways. The project honours the collective knowledge, experiences, cultures, and traditions of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who for thousands of years have shared and exchanged knowledge, nurtured, and loved Country for the benefit of all.

Community engagement is critical to the success of the project.

Community feedback ensures that we deliver the best outcome for the region.

Here are some of the ways we engage with the community:

Newspaper and radio advertisements
Newsletters, factsheets and maps
Community partnerships
Community information sessions
An Aboriginal Advisory Group

Face-to-face meetings
Website, email and social media
Sponsoring local events
1800 toll-free information line
Registering interest to work on our project via the Industry Capability Network Gateway

Our team has been active in meeting with people interested in the project, including landowners, community groups, government agencies, local Aboriginal land councils, regional councils, and local businesses.

We have sponsored local agricultural shows and held information sessions across the region including Armidale, Hillgrove, Ebor, Willawarrin, Bellbrook, Frederickton, Kempsey, and South West Rocks.

Relations with First Nations people

We’re striving to build genuine and meaningful relationships with all stakeholders, including First Nations communities, businesses, and people across the region.

Our cultural heritage investigations have so far included site and field investigations, as well as cultural value mapping activities that will continue across the life of the project.

We’ve also taken expressions of interests for members with diverse backgrounds, skills and experiences to join the project’s Aboriginal Advisory Group, ensuring active participation and representation of First Nations communities in our development and decision-making process.

Community benefits and funds

We want to ensure the community shares in the benefits created by the project.

That’s why we’re working with the Armidale and Kempsey Shire councils to create benefit sharing programs that reflect the needs and plans of the respective communities.

We recently held the first in a series of community benefit-sharing workshops with Kempsey and Upper Macleay Valley community members from which we will collect feedback to shape the future of our benefit-sharing initiatives.

For more information, check out our recent summary report from the event.

Job creation

The project will provide much needed regional investment, job creation, and community benefits in the Mid-North Coast and New England regions.

It’s anticipated the project will create 800 jobs during construction spanning a wide range of skills and activities.

Once constructed, up to 95 direct and indirect jobs will be required to support the project over its 100-year life span. You can read more details about this in our Amendment Report - Social Impact Assessment.

Local infrastructure

Providing safe and reliable access to the site will be critical during the construction and operation of the project.

This will involve upgrading local and regional roads, as well as constructing a new eastern access road on the southern side of the Macleay River.