Leading the Energy Transition with Erin Coldham

The Australian transition to renewable energy has not been an easy one.  Our dependency on fossil fuels, and until recently a conflicted national energy policy, has made it hard to make progress toward climate-friendly renewable energy resources like offshore wind.  Despite these challenges, a dedicated team of professionals have been making ground on Australia's first offshore wind farm.  When built it will power over 1.5 million homes and produce 25% of Victorias' energy.  Gerard talks with Erin Coldham, the acting CEO and Chief Development Officer of Star of the South about the challenges and opportunities they have encountered as they have sought to lead the way towards a green future

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Transcript

Episode 19 - Erin Coldham: Leading the Energy Transition

Project Length: 00:49:46

FULL TRANSCRIPT (with timecode)

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It's not about the ordinary. 

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We've got enough of that. 

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It's about 

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the extraordinary. 

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And we need more 

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either. 

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I'm Gerard PENNER and welcome 

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to the xtraordinary 

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Leaders podcast, where we spend 

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time with recognized leaders 

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and global experts exploring 

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the art and science 

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of remarkable leadership. 

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Hello and welcome to episode 19 

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of the 

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xtraordinary Leaders Podcast. 

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I'm Gerard PENNER, your host, 

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and I'm looking forward to 

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sharing with you 

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another terrific episode. 

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Before we go any further. 

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I want to first celebrate and 

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thank with great gratitude all 

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of you listeners who've been 

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downloading our episodes. 

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We've now exceeded 

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1500 downloads, which means 

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that in my reckoning, 

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that's 1500 opportunities that 

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we've had to encourage people 

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just like you and others, 

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to exercise leadership, 

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which is beyond ordinary, 

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beyond mediocre, beyond ho hum 

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toward something which is 

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more extraordinary, the kind of 

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leadership that our teams, 

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our organizations and our 

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communities need more of. 

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An incredibly important idea in 

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this particular episode of the 

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Extraordinary Leaders podcast. 

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Embracing and encouraging the 

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kind of leadership that allows 

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us to transform the world 

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around us, to move beyond the 

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status quo that we're currently 

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held by, to something which 

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is better, more adapted to the 

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kind of world that we want 

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to live in. 

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That's the topic of today's 

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Extraordinary Leaders podcast. 

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As we introduce to you a leader 

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in an organization that has 

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been working hard. 

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To do just that, transform the 

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world around us. 

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Before I introduce the leader 

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to you, their organization, 

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and the challenges and the 

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opportunities that they've 

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been facing into. 

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I'd like to pause and reflect 

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on the current moment as I 

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recorded this podcast. 

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We're barely two weeks since 

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the federal 

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election in Australia. 

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The Labor Party 

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have been elected. 

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They've brought with them a 

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very strong agenda, at least 

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much stronger than the previous 

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government on climate change 

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and the transition 

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to renewable energy. 

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And judging by everything 

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that's going on in the news 

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right now, it couldn't have 

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come any sooner. 

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Right now what we're observing 

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in Australia is an energy 

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crisis as we enter another cold 

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and wet winter. 

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We're faced with rapidly 

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escalating prices of 

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energy, gas, and electricity. 

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Many of our aging coal-fired  

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generators are out of action, 

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as industry analysts lament the 

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lack of progress and clear 

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policy that would have enabled 

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Australia to transition more 

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decisively and in a 

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more predictable, 

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reliable manner to 

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renewable energy sources. 

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I don't intend to take a party 

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political position on this 

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right now, but I will observe 

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that the policies of the 

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Liberal National Party have 

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been conflicted and have 

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struggled to provide a clear 

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and cogent path for investors 

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who wish to make the necessary 

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capital investments in the 

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renewable energy industry 

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here in Australia. 

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But nonetheless, there have 

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been some organizations that 

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have been pushing forward. 

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Companies that have solutions 

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that have been technologically 

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proven elsewhere and they've 

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been attempting to bring them 

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to bear in the 

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Australian environment, in the 

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Australian context for the 

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benefit of Australians. 

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Some of these plays have been 

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in segments of the industry 

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which we've already made 

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considerable progress with. 

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These include solar, hydro. 

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Battery storage 

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and onshore wind. 

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But there is one technology 

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that we have not yet 

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fully embraced, 

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and that's offshore wind. 

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Now, a word about 

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offshore wind. 

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Offshore wind has been in 

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operation around the world for 

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over 30 years. 

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The beginnings of offshore wind 

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technology and many people 

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considered the beginnings of 

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the offshore wind story 

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start in Denmark. 

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Many years ago, when the OPEC 

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oil crisis and other shocks 

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meant that as a country who 

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relied principally on burning 

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oil and other fossil fuels for 

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the production of their energy 

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meant that their energy 

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security was dependent upon the 

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consistent supply of 

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these fossil fuels. 

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They decided that they would 

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explore alternatives, 

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other ways of 

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producing energy. 

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And after years of 

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experimenting and testing and 

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proving offshore 

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wind technology, they started 

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to build offshore wind farms. 

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These are now proliferated 

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around the world, and you find 

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many of them in Europe, 

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around Asia, and there's even a 

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growing offshore wind industry 

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in the United States. 

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Yet we do not in Australia yet 

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have an operational 

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offshore wind farm. 

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We haven't even broken ground 

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on an operational 

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offshore wind farm. 

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But the good news is that there 

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is at least one company. 

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There's been quietly toiling 

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away over the last few years to 

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attempt to bring the first 

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offshore wind farm 

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to Australia. 

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This company is called Star 

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of the South. 

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It's a joint partnership 

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between a large Danish 

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infrastructure investment 

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company that has plenty of 

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experience with offshore 

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wind farms, and an Australian 

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investment partner who for many 

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years have held a vision of an 

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offshore wind farm in Australia 

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and have been diligently 

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working towards that. 

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The person I'm about to 

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introduce you to has been part 

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of that journey for the last 

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several years, leaving the 

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opportunities and challenges of 

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leading something that hasn't 

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been done before. 

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My guest is Erin Colton, 

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the acting CEO and chief 

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development officer at the Star 

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of the South Project, a project 

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which seeks to harness Bass 

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Strait winds to power more than 

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a million homes with clean 

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energy whilst creating 

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thousands of jobs. 

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Erin is a proud member of the 

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team that's progressing this 

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critical infrastructure project 

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for Australia, 

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bringing extensive experience, 

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working with all levels of 

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government on major 

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multibillion-dollar 

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infrastructure projects. 

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In her role at the Star 

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of the South. 

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Erin is responsible for all 

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development activities, 

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all that's required to bring 

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the project to 

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construction and operation. 

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She works with industry, 

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regulators, policymakers and 

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local communities to bring 

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offshore wind to regional 

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Gippsland and the 

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state of Victoria. 

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She's included in a word about 

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wins top 100 women's power list 

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and she's also a champion for 

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female talent in the energy 

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industry and is driven by the 

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positive opportunities that 

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offshore wind 

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represents for Australia. 

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It's my pleasure to have Erin 

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as a guest today, 

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so hang around. 

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It's going to be 

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a terrific episode. 

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Erin Colton, welcome to the 

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Extraordinary Ladies podcast. 

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Thanks Gerard. 

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I'm so pleased to be here 

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having this 

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conversation with you. 

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Well, I'm particularly pleased 

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that you're here because you 

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messaged me late yesterday to 

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let me know that 

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you'd contracted COVID. 

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You were in isolation, but you 

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were feeling fine 

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for this conversation. 

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So how are you feeling today? 

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I am feeling well. 

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I'm on the road to recovery. 

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But you're right, I do 

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have COVID, so I will apologize 

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in advance to your listeners if 

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that's showing through in 

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my voice, but that the 

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excitement of having this 

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conversation was too 

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much to miss. 

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Oh, that's wonderful. 

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I'm really delighted to be able 

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to speak with you today because 

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there's a few areas that I 

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think will be fascinating for 

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our audience to listen to your 

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leadership role at the Star 

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of the South. 

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Your leadership experiences 

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that led you to this, 

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particularly those experiences 

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over the last few years, 

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because as we all know, 

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there's been some very 

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challenging circumstances in 

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multiple domains that have been 

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occurring within Australia. 

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And then also the unique 

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leadership role that your 

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company is playing in the 

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energy transition which is 

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underway in Australia 

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right now. 

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But to get started, could you 

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tell our listeners a little bit 

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about your role as the acting 

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CEO of Star of the South? 

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Sure. 

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So for those who haven't heard 

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of Star of the South, we are 

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Australia's first 

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offshore wind farm. 

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We're on a mission to build the 

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first offshore wind 

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farm in Australia. 

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And for those who haven't heard 

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of what an offshore wind 

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farm is, it's turbines 

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in the ocean. 

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So we've been working really 

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hard over a number of years to 

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go and explore those winds 

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in Bass Strait. 

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It's very windy off the coast 

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of Gippsland there in Victoria 

00:08:24:05 - 00:08:25:24

and that's something that we 

00:08:25:26 - 00:08:27:17

think is really important for 

00:08:27:26 - 00:08:29:27

our future energy mix given the 

00:08:29:29 - 00:08:30:26

transition that we're in 

00:08:30:28 - 00:08:32:08

right now, not only in 

00:08:32:10 - 00:08:33:14

Australia but globally, 

00:08:33:24 - 00:08:35:29

but also for a region that has 

00:08:36:07 - 00:08:37:17

had a reputation of powering 

00:08:37:19 - 00:08:38:21

the nation for many, 

00:08:38:23 - 00:08:39:15

many years. 

00:08:39:25 - 00:08:41:06

And to provide those new 

00:08:41:08 - 00:08:42:17

opportunities going forward. 

00:08:42:19 - 00:08:44:28

So my role at Star of the South 

00:08:45:00 - 00:08:46:21

is I've been involved in some 

00:08:46:23 - 00:08:48:01

capacity over the last four of 

00:08:48:03 - 00:08:50:04

the four and a half years and 

00:08:50:10 - 00:08:51:28

have been really honored to 

00:08:52:00 - 00:08:53:18

have the role of acting CEO for 

00:08:53:20 - 00:08:54:15

the last little while. 

00:08:55:17 - 00:08:56:02

Hmm. 

00:08:56:06 - 00:08:56:29

And how big? 

00:08:57:15 - 00:08:58:25

Just to sort of size this up 

00:08:58:27 - 00:09:00:16

for people, you know? 

00:09:00:18 - 00:09:03:13

What are the dimensions of the 

00:09:03:15 - 00:09:05:13

intended investment that Star 

00:09:05:15 - 00:09:06:17

of the South is intending to 

00:09:06:19 - 00:09:07:04

make? 

00:09:08:06 - 00:09:09:29

The project really is a 

00:09:10:01 - 00:09:11:23

game-changer for 

00:09:11:29 - 00:09:13:22

energy supply, renewable energy 

00:09:13:24 - 00:09:15:06

supply in Australia. 

00:09:15:09 - 00:09:16:13

So many people would be 

00:09:16:15 - 00:09:18:23

familiar with solar farms, 

00:09:18:25 - 00:09:20:23

onshore wind farms, but this is 

00:09:20:25 - 00:09:22:06

taking it to the next level. 

00:09:22:20 - 00:09:24:29

We've often been described as a 

00:09:25:01 - 00:09:27:17

power station at sea because 

00:09:27:19 - 00:09:28:29

the amount of power that we're 

00:09:29:01 - 00:09:30:04

looking to generate is 

00:09:30:06 - 00:09:32:08

comparable to the power station 

00:09:32:10 - 00:09:33:20

that you would see right now in 

00:09:33:22 - 00:09:34:17

the Latrobe Valley or 

00:09:34:19 - 00:09:35:10

the Hunter Valley. 

00:09:36:08 - 00:09:37:15

So we are looking at up 

00:09:37:17 - 00:09:38:25

to 200 turbines. 

00:09:38:27 - 00:09:39:25

And the great thing about 

00:09:39:27 - 00:09:42:03

offshore wind is that the 

00:09:42:05 - 00:09:43:05

reason you can get larger 

00:09:43:07 - 00:09:44:21

projects is just simply that 

00:09:44:23 - 00:09:45:17

the turbines 

00:09:45:19 - 00:09:46:19

themselves are larger. 

00:09:47:04 - 00:09:48:03

Again, to put that into 

00:09:48:05 - 00:09:49:20

perspective for the listeners. 

00:09:49:22 - 00:09:51:28

It's a turbine that is three 

00:09:52:00 - 00:09:54:12

times the size of the largest 

00:09:54:14 - 00:09:55:26

current installed turbine on 

00:09:55:28 - 00:09:57:02

land here in Australia. 

00:09:57:29 - 00:09:59:11

So you've not only got larger 

00:09:59:13 - 00:10:00:16

turbines that can capture 

00:10:00:18 - 00:10:02:12

more electricity, you've also 

00:10:02:14 - 00:10:03:17

got stronger winds, 

00:10:03:19 - 00:10:05:12

more consistent winds at sea. 

00:10:05:14 - 00:10:06:18

And for anyone who goes out on 

00:10:06:21 - 00:10:08:04

a boat regularly, I'm sure they 

00:10:08:06 - 00:10:09:01

can attest to that. 

00:10:09:18 - 00:10:10:23

And you also have less 

00:10:10:25 - 00:10:11:24

conflicts with other 

00:10:11:26 - 00:10:13:10

land uses, such as farming, 

00:10:13:12 - 00:10:14:03

so you can have more 

00:10:14:05 - 00:10:15:00

of those turbines. 

00:10:15:02 - 00:10:17:02

So this is one of the reasons 

00:10:17:04 - 00:10:18:09

that a lot of countries have 

00:10:18:11 - 00:10:19:11

gone offshore for 

00:10:19:13 - 00:10:20:21

their wind power. 

00:10:21:06 - 00:10:22:14

And that's something we're 

00:10:22:16 - 00:10:23:08

looking to do. 

00:10:23:19 - 00:10:24:17

And again, just to put 

00:10:24:19 - 00:10:25:14

into perspective, 

00:10:25:16 - 00:10:27:00

we're exploring a project and 

00:10:27:02 - 00:10:27:20

it gets a little 

00:10:27:22 - 00:10:28:11

bit technical. 

00:10:28:13 - 00:10:29:14

But for those who have an 

00:10:29:16 - 00:10:31:13

interest in energy, up to 

00:10:31:15 - 00:10:33:27

2.2 gigawatts, which is the 

00:10:33:29 - 00:10:35:20

equivalent of around 20% of the 

00:10:35:22 - 00:10:36:18

state of Victoria's 

00:10:36:21 - 00:10:38:04

energy needs, powering about 

00:10:38:06 - 00:10:39:18

1.2 million homes. 

00:10:40:00 - 00:10:40:28

And those offshore wind 

00:10:41:00 - 00:10:42:25

turbines we see already off the 

00:10:42:27 - 00:10:44:18

coast of places like the UK. 

00:10:44:28 - 00:10:46:14

Just one spin of one of these 

00:10:46:16 - 00:10:47:26

turbines can power a British 

00:10:47:28 - 00:10:49:15

home for two days. 

00:10:50:06 - 00:10:51:20

So going back to if you think 

00:10:51:22 - 00:10:53:04

of 200 of these turbines 

00:10:53:06 - 00:10:54:02

spinning off the coast of 

00:10:54:04 - 00:10:55:27

Bass Strait, it really is an 

00:10:55:29 - 00:10:57:16

exciting opportunity and one 

00:10:57:18 - 00:10:58:23

that our team's working really 

00:10:58:25 - 00:10:59:20

hard to deliver on. 

00:11:00:24 - 00:11:01:25

That is extraordinary. 

00:11:02:24 - 00:11:04:18

And offshore wind is something 

00:11:04:21 - 00:11:06:19

which whilst new to Australia, 

00:11:06:21 - 00:11:07:06

it's actually 

00:11:07:08 - 00:11:08:03

a proven technology. 

00:11:08:05 - 00:11:09:08

There are countries around the 

00:11:09:10 - 00:11:10:23

world which have for quite a 

00:11:10:25 - 00:11:14:10

while now had offshore wind as 

00:11:14:12 - 00:11:15:05

a key part of 

00:11:15:17 - 00:11:16:09

their generation. 

00:11:16:11 - 00:11:18:08

Just how old is the technology 

00:11:18:10 - 00:11:19:13

and how proven is it? 

00:11:20:10 - 00:11:21:09

Yeah, absolutely. 

00:11:21:11 - 00:11:24:03

It's a technology that is what 

00:11:24:05 - 00:11:25:01

we're seeing is probably one of 

00:11:25:03 - 00:11:26:16

the fastest-growing energy 

00:11:26:18 - 00:11:27:27

technologies around the world. 

00:11:27:29 - 00:11:29:17

So the first offshore wind 

00:11:29:19 - 00:11:31:04

turbine was installed in 

00:11:31:06 - 00:11:32:24

Denmark in 1991. 

00:11:33:17 - 00:11:34:23

We then saw a real boom 

00:11:34:25 - 00:11:36:07

in Europe, so many European 

00:11:36:09 - 00:11:37:25

countries led by Denmark, 

00:11:37:27 - 00:11:39:02

places like Germany. 

00:11:39:20 - 00:11:41:11

But the UK has been a real 

00:11:41:13 - 00:11:42:03

market leader in 

00:11:42:05 - 00:11:43:15

offshore wind, so quite a lot 

00:11:43:17 - 00:11:44:24

of offshore wind already off 

00:11:44:26 - 00:11:46:21

the coast of the UK with 

00:11:46:23 - 00:11:48:13

ambitions to build up to 50 

00:11:48:15 - 00:11:50:14

gigawatts of offshore wind by 

00:11:50:16 - 00:11:52:11

2030 in that country. 

00:11:53:01 - 00:11:54:23

What's interesting is I think a 

00:11:54:25 - 00:11:56:09

lot of people thought offshore 

00:11:56:11 - 00:11:57:09

wind was for these small 

00:11:57:11 - 00:11:59:03

European countries that don't 

00:11:59:05 - 00:12:00:10

have a lot of land space. 

00:12:00:12 - 00:12:02:29

But in fact, the market leaders 

00:12:03:01 - 00:12:04:13

now we're expecting to see 

00:12:04:27 - 00:12:05:29

around the Asia 

00:12:06:01 - 00:12:07:27

Pacific region, so particularly 

00:12:08:06 - 00:12:09:13

China has a lot of installed 

00:12:09:15 - 00:12:10:19

offshore wind, but other 

00:12:10:21 - 00:12:13:05

countries but also the US. 

00:12:13:09 - 00:12:14:12

And I think that's been an 

00:12:14:14 - 00:12:17:00

important game-changer again 

00:12:17:02 - 00:12:18:03

for this industry to see a 

00:12:18:05 - 00:12:19:11

country like the US with the 

00:12:19:13 - 00:12:22:03

size of that country very 

00:12:22:05 - 00:12:23:05

similar to Australia, 

00:12:23:14 - 00:12:25:10

but ultimately a lot of the 

00:12:25:12 - 00:12:26:07

population living 

00:12:26:09 - 00:12:27:05

by the coastline. 

00:12:27:07 - 00:12:27:25

So there's some real 

00:12:27:27 - 00:12:29:15

similarities with how offshore 

00:12:29:17 - 00:12:30:16

wind has developed. 

00:12:30:18 - 00:12:32:06

But certainly we've seen it's a 

00:12:32:09 - 00:12:34:17

real proven energy technology, 

00:12:34:19 - 00:12:35:21

as you say, not only for 

00:12:35:23 - 00:12:37:06

supplying that consistent, 

00:12:37:08 - 00:12:38:16

reliable power into the grid 

00:12:38:26 - 00:12:40:22

but also for transforming some 

00:12:40:24 - 00:12:42:22

of these coastal towns who have 

00:12:42:24 - 00:12:44:05

had other industries that have 

00:12:44:12 - 00:12:45:12

thrived in the past, 

00:12:45:14 - 00:12:46:29

whether that be offshore oil 

00:12:47:01 - 00:12:48:24

and gas or commercial fishing. 

00:12:49:06 - 00:12:50:16

And it's been a sector that's 

00:12:50:18 - 00:12:51:16

helped to turn some of these 

00:12:51:18 - 00:12:53:11

communities around and create 

00:12:53:13 - 00:12:53:28

new jobs in 

00:12:54:00 - 00:12:55:01

industries going forward. 

00:12:55:12 - 00:12:56:12

And that's something that also 

00:12:56:14 - 00:12:58:07

drives us and our team at State 

00:12:58:09 - 00:12:58:24

of the South. 

00:12:59:13 - 00:12:59:28

Yeah. 

00:13:00:00 - 00:13:01:02

So you're saying that the 

00:13:01:04 - 00:13:02:03

technology has been in 

00:13:02:05 - 00:13:04:13

operation for more than 30 

00:13:04:15 - 00:13:06:28

years now and, you know, 

00:13:07:00 - 00:13:07:27

starting in Denmark and 

00:13:07:29 - 00:13:10:09

of course, major investment 

00:13:10:11 - 00:13:11:15

being made by Danish 

00:13:11:17 - 00:13:13:09

Infrastructure Fund in Star of 

00:13:13:11 - 00:13:14:00

the South along 

00:13:14:02 - 00:13:15:05

with Australian Investment. 

00:13:15:14 - 00:13:16:12

And we'll come talk about that 

00:13:16:14 - 00:13:17:15

a little bit later on because 

00:13:17:17 - 00:13:18:21

you just recently announced 

00:13:18:24 - 00:13:20:09

that Cbus, the superannuation 

00:13:20:11 - 00:13:21:09

fund has actually made a 

00:13:21:23 - 00:13:23:02

significant investment in start 

00:13:23:04 - 00:13:23:19

of the South. 

00:13:23:21 - 00:13:25:00

But it's interesting that 

00:13:25:02 - 00:13:27:09

whilst technologically the 

00:13:27:12 - 00:13:28:25

solution has been known for 

00:13:28:27 - 00:13:30:06

quite a while and been proven 

00:13:30:24 - 00:13:33:11

that in Australia it's only 

00:13:33:13 - 00:13:34:22

been probably in the last 

00:13:34:24 - 00:13:36:01

couple of weeks really 

00:13:36:15 - 00:13:39:09

that the, the other dimensions 

00:13:39:11 - 00:13:41:06

of successful offshore wind 

00:13:41:08 - 00:13:43:05

farm investment have started to 

00:13:43:07 - 00:13:43:27

fall into place. 

00:13:43:29 - 00:13:45:26

So for example, not only do you 

00:13:45:28 - 00:13:48:03

need the technology, you need 

00:13:48:06 - 00:13:49:13

the right political climate, 

00:13:49:15 - 00:13:51:01

you need the right kind of 

00:13:51:03 - 00:13:52:05

commercial arrangements, 

00:13:52:07 - 00:13:52:28

you need to have the 

00:13:53:00 - 00:13:53:15

appropriate 

00:13:53:20 - 00:13:54:23

other infrastructure. 

00:13:55:19 - 00:13:56:23

There's a bunch of other things 

00:13:56:25 - 00:13:58:07

that need to go on for these 

00:13:58:09 - 00:13:59:07

sort of things to work, 

00:13:59:09 - 00:13:59:24

not just the 

00:13:59:26 - 00:14:00:28

technology itself. 

00:14:01:21 - 00:14:03:03

It has been, it seems, 

00:14:03:05 - 00:14:04:12

quite a dramatic shift. 

00:14:04:18 - 00:14:06:03

A felt like a dramatic shift in 

00:14:06:05 - 00:14:07:15

the last couple of weeks since 

00:14:07:17 - 00:14:08:20

the federal election and a 

00:14:08:22 - 00:14:09:19

change in government. 

00:14:10:22 - 00:14:12:16

And how is that shifting the 

00:14:12:18 - 00:14:14:10

environment in which you and 

00:14:14:12 - 00:14:16:04

the team have been operating 

00:14:16:06 - 00:14:16:21

within? 

00:14:18:04 - 00:14:18:19

Yeah. 

00:14:18:21 - 00:14:20:02

I think it's been a journey 

00:14:20:04 - 00:14:21:29

that's built up over time. 

00:14:22:01 - 00:14:23:25

And if I think back to my early 

00:14:23:27 - 00:14:25:04

days on this project, 

00:14:25:15 - 00:14:28:12

many people were very skeptical 

00:14:28:14 - 00:14:29:11

of what we're trying 

00:14:29:13 - 00:14:30:17

to achieve, so they thought it 

00:14:30:19 - 00:14:31:13

was a bit crazy. 

00:14:31:22 - 00:14:33:13

I think even the word lunatics 

00:14:33:15 - 00:14:35:24

was used to describe some of us 

00:14:35:26 - 00:14:37:04

because people just couldn't 

00:14:37:06 - 00:14:38:10

see why that 

00:14:38:12 - 00:14:39:11

technology was needed. 

00:14:39:14 - 00:14:40:22

And when I say people, I made 

00:14:40:24 - 00:14:42:11

it across the spectrum, 

00:14:43:04 - 00:14:45:07

not only, you know, 

00:14:45:09 - 00:14:46:12

you've mentioned government, 

00:14:46:21 - 00:14:48:14

but equally within the energy 

00:14:48:16 - 00:14:49:15

industry and 

00:14:49:20 - 00:14:50:25

just general population. 

00:14:50:27 - 00:14:53:07

But I think what we have seen 

00:14:53:09 - 00:14:56:08

is a faster than anticipated 

00:14:56:10 - 00:14:58:21

shift from the existing forms 

00:14:58:23 - 00:15:01:23

of power into different forms 

00:15:01:25 - 00:15:02:21

and more renewable 

00:15:02:24 - 00:15:03:19

forms of energy. 

00:15:04:06 - 00:15:06:16

And although the political 

00:15:06:18 - 00:15:07:27

climate has changed over the 

00:15:07:29 - 00:15:08:21

last few weeks of 

00:15:08:24 - 00:15:10:09

our election, what I would say 

00:15:10:11 - 00:15:12:09

is we have been building to 

00:15:12:11 - 00:15:13:12

some of these milestones 

00:15:13:14 - 00:15:14:08

for some time. 

00:15:14:23 - 00:15:16:13

And one of the more pleasing 

00:15:16:15 - 00:15:18:09

things I think that's been part 

00:15:18:11 - 00:15:19:28

of this journey was last year 

00:15:20:00 - 00:15:21:23

when new legislation was 

00:15:21:25 - 00:15:22:28

brought forward into our 

00:15:23:00 - 00:15:25:10

federal parliament, a piece of 

00:15:25:12 - 00:15:26:29

legislation called the Offshore 

00:15:27:01 - 00:15:27:21

Electricity 

00:15:27:23 - 00:15:28:22

Infrastructure Bill. 

00:15:29:11 - 00:15:30:18

And that was a bill that really 

00:15:30:20 - 00:15:31:20

went under the radar. 

00:15:31:26 - 00:15:32:19

You hear a lot in the 

00:15:32:21 - 00:15:34:20

news about, I think people 

00:15:34:22 - 00:15:36:01

dubbed them the climate wars 

00:15:36:03 - 00:15:37:02

and these sorts of things. 

00:15:37:04 - 00:15:38:28

But ultimately, this piece of 

00:15:39:00 - 00:15:40:16

legislation really sailed 

00:15:40:18 - 00:15:42:15

through with strong support 

00:15:42:17 - 00:15:44:01

from all sides of politics. 

00:15:44:12 - 00:15:45:19

And for me that was really 

00:15:45:21 - 00:15:47:16

pleasing because it was an 

00:15:47:18 - 00:15:50:04

opportunity to say a good piece 

00:15:50:06 - 00:15:52:03

of solid legislation go forward 

00:15:52:05 - 00:15:53:08

that many people had worked 

00:15:53:10 - 00:15:54:22

hard on for a number of years 

00:15:54:24 - 00:15:56:01

within the government system 

00:15:56:03 - 00:15:58:13

and through our own inputs into 

00:15:58:15 - 00:15:59:15

those processes and 

00:15:59:17 - 00:16:00:24

other industry players. 

00:16:01:16 - 00:16:03:00

And to see that introduced in 

00:16:03:02 - 00:16:04:10

September of last year and 

00:16:04:12 - 00:16:06:04

sailed through in November was 

00:16:06:06 - 00:16:08:00

a really great milestone and it 

00:16:08:02 - 00:16:09:09

officially became law 

00:16:09:11 - 00:16:10:06

just last week. 

00:16:10:09 - 00:16:12:09

So I think that's one of the 

00:16:12:11 - 00:16:13:15

most important things. 

00:16:13:17 - 00:16:15:15

It's really about progress and 

00:16:15:17 - 00:16:17:21

saying those small steps along 

00:16:17:24 - 00:16:19:25

the way, rather than get too 

00:16:19:27 - 00:16:21:00

hung up on all of the things 

00:16:21:02 - 00:16:22:09

that you don't have in place, 

00:16:22:11 - 00:16:23:22

because you just know that when 

00:16:23:24 - 00:16:24:27

there's a will, there's a way. 

00:16:24:29 - 00:16:26:01

And that's what we've seen here 

00:16:26:03 - 00:16:26:22

with offshore wind. 

00:16:27:16 - 00:16:28:01

Mhm. 

00:16:28:06 - 00:16:29:27

And that it's a, 

00:16:30:04 - 00:16:31:06

it's a helpful observation. 

00:16:31:09 - 00:16:32:07

I know you and I have spoken 

00:16:32:09 - 00:16:33:18

about before this important 

00:16:33:20 - 00:16:34:19

idea when you're dealing with 

00:16:34:21 - 00:16:36:26

complex challenges, 

00:16:36:28 - 00:16:38:06

complex opportunities, 

00:16:38:25 - 00:16:40:19

don't expect to solve them 

00:16:41:03 - 00:16:41:26

in one step. 

00:16:41:28 - 00:16:43:25

You just need to just focus on 

00:16:43:27 - 00:16:45:11

making progress every time you 

00:16:45:13 - 00:16:46:06

try something, you're just 

00:16:46:09 - 00:16:47:08

trying to make progress. 

00:16:47:26 - 00:16:48:28

You also talked about this 

00:16:49:00 - 00:16:50:18

faster than anticipated shift. 

00:16:51:09 - 00:16:54:22

The CSIRO have a research unit 

00:16:54:24 - 00:16:57:24

which looked into historical 

00:16:57:26 - 00:16:59:11

change to just identify were 

00:16:59:13 - 00:17:01:08

there some truths about change 

00:17:01:27 - 00:17:03:12

that we could learn from the 

00:17:03:14 - 00:17:04:28

past and apply to now? 

00:17:05:00 - 00:17:07:09

And they discovered through 

00:17:07:11 - 00:17:08:07

some of their studies that 

00:17:08:09 - 00:17:09:28

change always happens much 

00:17:09:29 - 00:17:10:29

faster than you think 

00:17:11:01 - 00:17:11:23

it's going to. 

00:17:12:13 - 00:17:13:24

One of the the 

00:17:15:12 - 00:17:16:29

areas they looked into was, 

00:17:17:01 - 00:17:18:07

for example, looking at the 

00:17:18:09 - 00:17:19:15

fundamental transformational 

00:17:19:17 - 00:17:20:19

change that occurred when the 

00:17:20:21 - 00:17:21:29

automobile was introduced. 

00:17:22:08 - 00:17:23:15

So we've gone from people who 

00:17:23:17 - 00:17:25:25

were using often cotton horse 

00:17:25:27 - 00:17:26:27

or horse propelled or 

00:17:27:04 - 00:17:28:00

bullet propelled 

00:17:29:17 - 00:17:32:03

to these internal combustion 

00:17:32:05 - 00:17:33:06

engine propelled vehicles. 

00:17:33:24 - 00:17:36:09

They used some photos that had 

00:17:36:11 - 00:17:37:20

been taken on a regular basis 

00:17:37:22 - 00:17:38:20

of the Pyrmont Bridge 

00:17:38:22 - 00:17:40:27

in Sydney, and they found the 

00:17:40:29 - 00:17:44:08

very last photo of which the 

00:17:45:08 - 00:17:46:29

the only vehicles that were 

00:17:47:01 - 00:17:47:27

present on the bridge 

00:17:47:29 - 00:17:48:21

were horse drawn. 

00:17:49:11 - 00:17:52:19

They then found the very last 

00:17:52:21 - 00:17:54:00

photo of there being a 

00:17:54:02 - 00:17:55:15

horse drawn, horse drawn 

00:17:55:24 - 00:17:58:00

vehicle on a horse on 

00:17:58:02 - 00:17:58:21

the bridge itself. 

00:17:58:23 - 00:18:00:07

So in other words, the bridge 

00:18:00:09 - 00:18:01:21

was completely only being used 

00:18:01:23 - 00:18:03:25

by automobiles except 

00:18:03:27 - 00:18:04:12

for this one. 

00:18:04:28 - 00:18:05:26

And that period was 

00:18:06:00 - 00:18:07:06

only 14 years. 

00:18:08:04 - 00:18:09:19

Well, is which is 

00:18:09:21 - 00:18:10:15

which is incredible. 

00:18:10:17 - 00:18:13:04

So this momentum that builds as 

00:18:13:06 - 00:18:15:10

the system starts to evolve and 

00:18:15:12 - 00:18:17:14

adapt clearly happens much 

00:18:17:16 - 00:18:18:24

faster than we anticipate. 

00:18:19:07 - 00:18:20:19

And it's probably true as well 

00:18:20:21 - 00:18:23:21

that not only is the progress 

00:18:23:23 - 00:18:25:00

that Star of the South made and 

00:18:25:02 - 00:18:26:03

where it is today that's been 

00:18:26:05 - 00:18:28:01

built over years of 

00:18:28:03 - 00:18:29:08

effort by people. 

00:18:30:22 - 00:18:32:06

Your own career. 

00:18:32:08 - 00:18:33:19

Where you're up to now has 

00:18:33:21 - 00:18:34:23

actually been built through 

00:18:34:25 - 00:18:35:25

years of effort, 

00:18:35:27 - 00:18:37:09

years of experience. 

00:18:38:05 - 00:18:39:27

What when you back up a bit, 

00:18:40:10 - 00:18:42:20

how would you describe the key 

00:18:42:25 - 00:18:44:13

elements of your career journey 

00:18:44:26 - 00:18:46:14

that's led you to this unique 

00:18:46:16 - 00:18:48:15

role in this unique company at 

00:18:48:17 - 00:18:49:12

this unique time? 

00:18:51:13 - 00:18:52:22

It's a really interesting 

00:18:52:24 - 00:18:55:21

question because I feel that 

00:18:55:23 - 00:18:57:15

most of my career opportunities 

00:18:57:17 - 00:18:59:01

have come about by chance. 

00:18:59:21 - 00:19:01:19

So I think back to when I was 

00:19:01:21 - 00:19:03:02

in high school and you have 

00:19:03:04 - 00:19:04:26

those career conversations and 

00:19:04:28 - 00:19:05:28

they say, What do you want to 

00:19:06:00 - 00:19:07:13

do when you finish school? 

00:19:07:27 - 00:19:08:25

And I think that's one of the 

00:19:08:27 - 00:19:09:25

worst questions you can 

00:19:09:27 - 00:19:11:08

ask people, because most 

00:19:11:10 - 00:19:12:21

teenagers are more focused 

00:19:12:23 - 00:19:13:22

on just finishing. 

00:19:14:12 - 00:19:15:21

It's, you know, getting through 

00:19:15:23 - 00:19:17:12

all those exams and going to 

00:19:17:14 - 00:19:19:07

all the parties and going 

00:19:19:09 - 00:19:20:08

through all of those different 

00:19:20:10 - 00:19:21:29

rites of passage is passages 

00:19:22:01 - 00:19:23:03

that you do at that time. 

00:19:23:22 - 00:19:24:23

And I had no idea, 

00:19:24:25 - 00:19:25:17

to be honest. 

00:19:25:19 - 00:19:28:06

So I, I knew that I had some 

00:19:28:08 - 00:19:30:05

strengths and I just sort of 

00:19:30:07 - 00:19:31:18

followed that into a well, 

00:19:31:20 - 00:19:32:29

actually, I took a year off and 

00:19:33:01 - 00:19:33:26

I worked for years. 

00:19:33:28 - 00:19:34:25

So I didn't go straight from 

00:19:34:27 - 00:19:36:17

school into university because 

00:19:36:27 - 00:19:37:26

I felt like I 

00:19:37:28 - 00:19:38:27

had studied enough. 

00:19:38:29 - 00:19:40:07

I'd had enough of reading 

00:19:40:09 - 00:19:41:07

material and having 

00:19:41:09 - 00:19:42:09

to translate that. 

00:19:42:11 - 00:19:43:26

So I wanted to get into the 

00:19:43:28 - 00:19:45:29

workforce and earn some money 

00:19:46:01 - 00:19:47:08

and stand on my own two feet. 

00:19:47:10 - 00:19:48:02

So I did that. 

00:19:48:16 - 00:19:49:24

But I went back to university 

00:19:49:26 - 00:19:51:20

because a lot of people told me 

00:19:51:22 - 00:19:52:17

that was important to 

00:19:52:19 - 00:19:53:06

get a degree. 

00:19:53:08 - 00:19:54:05

I wanted a good job. 

00:19:54:07 - 00:19:56:11

So I listened to those people 

00:19:56:13 - 00:19:59:17

and I then just followed 

00:19:59:22 - 00:20:01:23

my interests, I suppose. 

00:20:01:25 - 00:20:03:20

And for me it's always been 

00:20:03:22 - 00:20:06:15

about working on something that 

00:20:06:17 - 00:20:07:27

you're passionate about that 

00:20:07:29 - 00:20:09:02

energizes you, 

00:20:09:19 - 00:20:12:17

that challenges you, that gives 

00:20:12:19 - 00:20:13:11

you that opportunity 

00:20:13:13 - 00:20:14:16

to continue learning. 

00:20:15:22 - 00:20:16:22

And if I think about 

00:20:16:24 - 00:20:19:20

this role, many people say 

00:20:20:01 - 00:20:21:20

to me, Wow, you've done some 

00:20:21:22 - 00:20:22:20

impressive things in 

00:20:22:22 - 00:20:23:20

the energy sector. 

00:20:23:28 - 00:20:25:06

But in fact, I've only worked 

00:20:25:08 - 00:20:26:16

in the energy sector for as 

00:20:26:18 - 00:20:27:13

long as I've been working on 

00:20:27:15 - 00:20:28:21

these offshore wind projects. 

00:20:28:23 - 00:20:31:17

So and I remember coming into 

00:20:31:19 - 00:20:34:07

this role and when I was first 

00:20:34:09 - 00:20:35:20

asked to work on this Star of 

00:20:35:22 - 00:20:37:06

the South Project, one of the 

00:20:37:08 - 00:20:39:09

founders at the time said 

00:20:39:11 - 00:20:40:21

to me, You know, we want you to 

00:20:41:03 - 00:20:42:08

come and help us with these 

00:20:42:10 - 00:20:43:12

aspects of this project 

00:20:43:14 - 00:20:44:04

we're working on. 

00:20:44:22 - 00:20:45:29

And I just remember saying, 

00:20:46:14 - 00:20:47:19

I don't know anything about 

00:20:47:21 - 00:20:48:17

the energy industry. 

00:20:48:19 - 00:20:49:19

You do appreciate that, 

00:20:49:21 - 00:20:50:06

don't you? 

00:20:50:08 - 00:20:51:10

And he said, No, that's okay, 

00:20:51:12 - 00:20:51:28

because I know about 

00:20:52:00 - 00:20:52:25

the energy industry. 

00:20:52:27 - 00:20:53:26

I need you to focus on what 

00:20:53:28 - 00:20:54:13

you're good at. 

00:20:55:08 - 00:20:56:09

And that and that was a very 

00:20:56:11 - 00:20:58:09

good thing because I think. 

00:20:59:15 - 00:21:00:27

It's always challenging. 

00:21:01:16 - 00:21:03:05

It requires an element of 

00:21:03:07 - 00:21:04:12

courage and bravery to step 

00:21:04:14 - 00:21:05:06

into something that you 

00:21:05:08 - 00:21:07:15

don't know, but that you also 

00:21:07:17 - 00:21:08:22

find very interesting. 

00:21:09:13 - 00:21:11:15

So one of the pieces of advice 

00:21:11:17 - 00:21:12:18

at least I've had when I've 

00:21:12:20 - 00:21:14:06

needed to contemplate my next 

00:21:14:08 - 00:21:15:26

move is, you know, it's the 

00:21:15:28 - 00:21:17:15

times that you're most fearful 

00:21:17:17 - 00:21:18:10

that you should probably just 

00:21:18:12 - 00:21:19:22

say yes and then figure 

00:21:19:24 - 00:21:20:09

it out later. 

00:21:20:11 - 00:21:21:17

And if it goes badly, you'll, 

00:21:21:19 - 00:21:22:20

you'll end pretty quickly. 

00:21:23:03 - 00:21:24:11

But there's every chance it 

00:21:24:13 - 00:21:25:08

can go well. 

00:21:25:19 - 00:21:27:07

And here I am four years later 

00:21:27:09 - 00:21:28:06

and really enjoying this 

00:21:28:08 - 00:21:29:17

journey and hopefully making a 

00:21:29:19 - 00:21:32:03

really good contribution to get 

00:21:32:05 - 00:21:35:14

this first trailblazing project 

00:21:35:16 - 00:21:37:11

up for Victorian Australia. 

00:21:38:14 - 00:21:40:29

I like those words that one of 

00:21:41:01 - 00:21:41:23

the founders said to you. 

00:21:41:25 - 00:21:43:11

He said, said, You don't need 

00:21:43:13 - 00:21:45:29

to know about this technically 

00:21:46:01 - 00:21:47:03

or you just need to do what 

00:21:47:05 - 00:21:47:29

you're good at, know what 

00:21:48:01 - 00:21:48:16

you're good at. 

00:21:48:18 - 00:21:49:24

So what is it that you would say

00:21:49:26 - 00:21:50:11

? 

00:21:50:17 - 00:21:52:01

At that point you were good at 

00:21:52:03 - 00:21:53:08

that was attractive. 

00:21:54:23 - 00:21:56:24

Well, if I look at what I've 

00:21:56:29 - 00:21:58:15

done previously, I've always 

00:21:58:17 - 00:22:00:02

worked on really big projects 

00:22:00:04 - 00:22:01:20

and projects that I hope make a 

00:22:01:22 - 00:22:02:15

positive difference 

00:22:02:17 - 00:22:03:21

in people's lives. 

00:22:03:23 - 00:22:06:03

And when you're trying to build 

00:22:06:05 - 00:22:07:24

a project, you need all of 

00:22:07:26 - 00:22:08:24

the different elements. 

00:22:08:26 - 00:22:10:09

There's a lot of pieces 

00:22:10:11 - 00:22:11:00

of the puzzle. 

00:22:11:16 - 00:22:13:17

And I knew a little bit about 

00:22:13:19 - 00:22:14:16

all of those pieces. 

00:22:14:18 - 00:22:15:18

So whether it's the 

00:22:15:20 - 00:22:16:11

business case, 

00:22:16:13 - 00:22:18:15

the concept phase, what you 

00:22:18:17 - 00:22:19:07

need to do from a 

00:22:19:09 - 00:22:20:22

procurement perspective, 

00:22:20:24 - 00:22:21:14

the planning, 

00:22:21:16 - 00:22:22:25

the environmental approvals, 

00:22:22:27 - 00:22:24:09

the stakeholder engagement, 

00:22:25:09 - 00:22:26:16

all of these different things, 

00:22:26:18 - 00:22:27:19

the engineering I'm 

00:22:27:21 - 00:22:29:26

less proficient in. 

00:22:29:28 - 00:22:30:26

But again, I know a lot of 

00:22:30:28 - 00:22:32:02

wonderful engineers that I've 

00:22:32:04 - 00:22:33:16

worked my whole career with. 

00:22:33:18 - 00:22:35:24

So it's a matter of 

00:22:36:04 - 00:22:38:04

understanding that I do have 

00:22:38:20 - 00:22:40:13

that background and experience 

00:22:40:15 - 00:22:42:03

and seeing a project through 

00:22:42:05 - 00:22:44:01

from concept phase through 

00:22:44:03 - 00:22:46:09

to operations, but also. 

00:22:47:16 - 00:22:48:26

Taking really complex 

00:22:48:28 - 00:22:51:05

information and translating 

00:22:51:07 - 00:22:52:20

that in a way that makes 

00:22:52:22 - 00:22:53:19

sense to people. 

00:22:54:05 - 00:22:55:29

I think creating that 

00:22:56:01 - 00:22:57:21

compelling need for something 

00:22:57:23 - 00:22:59:03

and this was one of the first 

00:22:59:15 - 00:23:00:12

things that we did. 

00:23:00:14 - 00:23:02:04

And again, speaking earlier, 

00:23:02:06 - 00:23:03:12

I mentioned there's a lot of 

00:23:03:14 - 00:23:04:11

skeptics out there. 

00:23:04:13 - 00:23:06:05

So the first job was really to 

00:23:06:07 - 00:23:07:22

convince ourselves that 

00:23:07:24 - 00:23:09:10

offshore wind made sense and 

00:23:09:12 - 00:23:10:02

was needed and. 

00:23:11:02 - 00:23:12:24

And taking all of that evidence 

00:23:12:26 - 00:23:13:24

and translating it into 

00:23:13:26 - 00:23:14:23

something that really 

00:23:14:25 - 00:23:15:22

just makes sense. 

00:23:15:24 - 00:23:17:23

And for me, that's been really 

00:23:17:25 - 00:23:19:03

satisfying to see that 

00:23:19:19 - 00:23:21:09

recognition more broadly across 

00:23:21:11 - 00:23:22:14

the industry and see 

00:23:22:16 - 00:23:23:10

that penny drop. 

00:23:23:12 - 00:23:25:02

And there's different moments 

00:23:25:04 - 00:23:26:19

along the way where you see 

00:23:26:21 - 00:23:28:24

that in, as you say, a more 

00:23:28:26 - 00:23:30:20

concrete form with legislation 

00:23:30:22 - 00:23:32:09

coming in or new policies, 

00:23:32:11 - 00:23:33:13

targets being set at a 

00:23:33:15 - 00:23:34:14

state government level. 

00:23:35:13 - 00:23:36:10

But there's a lot of work 

00:23:36:12 - 00:23:37:12

building up to that and a lot 

00:23:37:14 - 00:23:38:25

of conversations that you have 

00:23:38:27 - 00:23:41:04

with a lot of people to ensure 

00:23:41:06 - 00:23:42:09

that that's well understood and 

00:23:42:11 - 00:23:43:03

the team as well. 

00:23:43:05 - 00:23:43:26

I think that's the 

00:23:43:28 - 00:23:44:20

other aspect. 

00:23:44:22 - 00:23:48:00

It's an incredibly uncertain 

00:23:48:02 - 00:23:49:11

environment that we work in, 

00:23:49:13 - 00:23:50:18

so it's really important to 

00:23:50:20 - 00:23:52:21

have that sense of belief in 

00:23:52:23 - 00:23:54:00

what you're doing so that that 

00:23:54:02 - 00:23:55:16

can also translate to others 

00:23:55:18 - 00:23:56:15

within the team that 

00:23:56:17 - 00:23:57:06

you're working with. 

00:23:58:28 - 00:24:00:21

That sense of purpose, 

00:24:01:04 - 00:24:02:12

you know, a reason for doing 

00:24:02:14 - 00:24:03:09

the work, a reason 

00:24:03:11 - 00:24:04:04

to keep pushing. 

00:24:04:22 - 00:24:06:05

And I know that's been really 

00:24:06:07 - 00:24:07:10

important to you and the team 

00:24:07:12 - 00:24:08:06

at Star of the South, 

00:24:08:08 - 00:24:09:12

particularly with some of the 

00:24:09:14 - 00:24:12:16

headwinds that you had been 

00:24:12:18 - 00:24:13:14

experiencing over the 

00:24:13:16 - 00:24:14:05

last few years. 

00:24:14:07 - 00:24:15:04

Can you tell us a little bit 

00:24:15:06 - 00:24:16:29

about some of those, some of 

00:24:17:01 - 00:24:18:04

the challenges over the last 

00:24:18:06 - 00:24:19:01

four years that you've 

00:24:19:03 - 00:24:19:18

experience? 

00:24:19:20 - 00:24:20:23

Because it hasn't just been. 

00:24:22:07 - 00:24:24:12

And being the first proposed 

00:24:24:14 - 00:24:25:21

offshore wind farm and having 

00:24:25:23 - 00:24:27:15

to navigate the regulatory 

00:24:27:17 - 00:24:30:00

the commercial, the economic. 

00:24:31:18 - 00:24:33:10

And trailblazing there. 

00:24:33:12 - 00:24:34:29

You've also had, for example, 

00:24:35:01 - 00:24:35:23

COVID thrown in. 

00:24:39:00 - 00:24:41:03

I think, you know, this is such 

00:24:41:05 - 00:24:42:02

an interesting time 

00:24:42:04 - 00:24:42:24

in history. 

00:24:42:26 - 00:24:43:28

We're all kind of look back 

00:24:44:00 - 00:24:44:20

and be carried. 

00:24:44:22 - 00:24:46:06

We get through this. 

00:24:46:08 - 00:24:48:29

But absolutely coming back to 

00:24:49:01 - 00:24:50:27

that sense of purpose and sense 

00:24:50:29 - 00:24:53:11

of shared purpose, because it 

00:24:53:13 - 00:24:54:27

was all it's always there for 

00:24:54:29 - 00:24:55:24

people who are working 

00:24:55:26 - 00:24:57:07

in these environments. 

00:24:57:13 - 00:24:58:06

You often see it. 

00:24:58:25 - 00:25:01:12

But to bring that into a spoken 

00:25:01:14 - 00:25:03:03

purpose and culture and 

00:25:03:13 - 00:25:04:24

developing that with that team 

00:25:04:26 - 00:25:05:20

was a really important 

00:25:05:22 - 00:25:06:09

thing we did. 

00:25:07:10 - 00:25:08:14

I would say halfway through 

00:25:08:16 - 00:25:09:21

the COVID pandemic. 

00:25:09:23 - 00:25:10:17

And here in Melbourne we 

00:25:10:19 - 00:25:12:12

experienced quite a lot 

00:25:12:14 - 00:25:13:28

of lockdowns, I think six or 

00:25:14:00 - 00:25:15:08

seven and totalling many 

00:25:15:10 - 00:25:16:12

hundreds of times. 

00:25:17:10 - 00:25:18:26

So I think that when we first 

00:25:18:28 - 00:25:21:05

went into COVID with 

00:25:21:07 - 00:25:22:04

the pandemic, there was 

00:25:22:06 - 00:25:23:25

certainly this surge capacity. 

00:25:23:27 - 00:25:26:15

And if just knuckle down and we 

00:25:26:17 - 00:25:27:19

managed to continue all the 

00:25:27:21 - 00:25:28:06

work that we were 

00:25:28:08 - 00:25:29:24

doing quite well. 

00:25:31:00 - 00:25:32:01

But there was a 

00:25:32:03 - 00:25:33:18

fatigue element, I think that 

00:25:33:20 - 00:25:35:05

not only we experienced but 

00:25:35:07 - 00:25:36:28

everyone experiences when this 

00:25:37:00 - 00:25:37:27

is prolonged over a 

00:25:37:29 - 00:25:38:22

number of years. 

00:25:39:07 - 00:25:40:09

So it was really important for 

00:25:40:11 - 00:25:41:27

us last year to come together 

00:25:41:29 - 00:25:43:23

as a team in person and we did 

00:25:43:25 - 00:25:44:23

this work together with you. 

00:25:44:25 - 00:25:48:17

Gerard masked up and it was two 

00:25:48:19 - 00:25:50:21

days of conversations and 

00:25:50:23 - 00:25:51:26

connecting with each other 

00:25:51:28 - 00:25:53:15

again after such a long period 

00:25:53:17 - 00:25:55:14

of absence and reminding 

00:25:55:16 - 00:25:57:07

ourselves about why we're doing 

00:25:57:09 - 00:25:59:20

this and ensuring that we're 

00:25:59:22 - 00:26:01:05

doing it in a way that aligns 

00:26:01:07 - 00:26:02:09

with our values, 

00:26:02:11 - 00:26:03:07

our shared values. 

00:26:03:09 - 00:26:04:19

So that work has been 

00:26:04:21 - 00:26:06:05

incredibly important for us as 

00:26:06:07 - 00:26:08:17

a team and will have people 

00:26:08:19 - 00:26:10:14

come and go on that journey. 

00:26:10:16 - 00:26:12:12

But the important thing is that 

00:26:12:14 - 00:26:13:20

it's something that can 

00:26:14:06 - 00:26:15:06

keep us grounded. 

00:26:15:21 - 00:26:16:23

And for everyone there are 

00:26:16:25 - 00:26:18:02

different elements of that and 

00:26:18:04 - 00:26:19:16

our purpose is quite broad 

00:26:20:01 - 00:26:20:26

because it means something 

00:26:20:28 - 00:26:22:00

different to different people. 

00:26:22:02 - 00:26:24:02

But ultimately we are here to 

00:26:24:04 - 00:26:25:04

make a difference and to do 

00:26:25:06 - 00:26:26:17

something that we think will be 

00:26:26:19 - 00:26:28:19

positive and leave a legacy for 

00:26:28:29 - 00:26:30:16

not only ourselves, but also 

00:26:30:18 - 00:26:32:03

the communities in 

00:26:32:05 - 00:26:32:25

which we're working. 

00:26:33:27 - 00:26:35:09

And what does the purpose mean 

00:26:35:11 - 00:26:35:26

to you? 

00:26:39:02 - 00:26:39:17

Yeah. 

00:26:39:19 - 00:26:40:20

We spent a lot of time coming 

00:26:40:22 - 00:26:41:19

up with the words. 

00:26:42:12 - 00:26:45:18

But for me again, if I go back 

00:26:45:20 - 00:26:47:26

to my career, it's really 

00:26:47:28 - 00:26:49:14

working on things that I think 

00:26:49:22 - 00:26:50:23

are going to make 

00:26:50:29 - 00:26:51:27

a better future. 

00:26:53:13 - 00:26:55:08

So my background, I mostly 

00:26:55:10 - 00:26:56:23

worked on transport projects, 

00:26:56:25 - 00:26:58:06

and mobility is an important 

00:26:58:08 - 00:26:59:09

thing for people being able to 

00:26:59:11 - 00:27:00:12

get from A to B 

00:27:00:23 - 00:27:02:01

quickly and efficiently. 

00:27:02:23 - 00:27:03:26

So I always had an enormous 

00:27:03:28 - 00:27:05:03

sense of pride when we opened 

00:27:05:05 - 00:27:07:16

these big new major transport 

00:27:07:18 - 00:27:09:06

projects that made people's 

00:27:09:08 - 00:27:09:27

daily commute 

00:27:09:29 - 00:27:11:28

whole lives easier. 

00:27:12:26 - 00:27:13:23

And from an 

00:27:13:25 - 00:27:14:27

energy perspective. 

00:27:15:27 - 00:27:17:17

I didn't think of that energy. 

00:27:17:19 - 00:27:18:29

I don't think people go about 

00:27:19:01 - 00:27:20:02

their day to day thinking about 

00:27:20:04 - 00:27:21:11

electricity all that often. 

00:27:21:27 - 00:27:24:12

And I remember back in 2017 

00:27:24:27 - 00:27:26:07

hearing over the news that the 

00:27:26:09 - 00:27:27:07

Hazelwood power 

00:27:27:09 - 00:27:28:10

station was closing. 

00:27:28:12 - 00:27:29:28

And I have to admit, I didn't 

00:27:30:00 - 00:27:30:18

even really know 

00:27:30:20 - 00:27:31:13

what that meant. 

00:27:31:15 - 00:27:32:23

I didn't really know where 

00:27:32:25 - 00:27:33:28

electricity came from. 

00:27:34:00 - 00:27:35:01

You just turn the lights on and 

00:27:35:03 - 00:27:36:00

expect it to work. 

00:27:36:18 - 00:27:38:21

But I started looking into how 

00:27:38:23 - 00:27:41:07

our energy system was built up 

00:27:41:09 - 00:27:42:26

and where the power came from. 

00:27:43:27 - 00:27:45:14

And I did realize that it's 

00:27:45:16 - 00:27:46:16

actually quite fragile. 

00:27:46:18 - 00:27:47:15

The more that these power 

00:27:47:17 - 00:27:50:09

plants close, the less secure 

00:27:50:13 - 00:27:51:11

energy we have. 

00:27:51:13 - 00:27:52:17

And we need to start building 

00:27:52:19 - 00:27:54:04

more supply to get that 

00:27:54:06 - 00:27:55:00

into the system. 

00:27:55:23 - 00:27:57:12

And equally, we do know there's 

00:27:57:14 - 00:27:58:16

a global shift towards 

00:27:58:20 - 00:27:59:24

small renewable sources. 

00:27:59:26 - 00:28:01:07

So it's important that we are 

00:28:01:09 - 00:28:02:18

progressing these technologies 

00:28:02:20 - 00:28:04:12

that are going to help give us 

00:28:04:14 - 00:28:05:24

that security into the future, 

00:28:05:26 - 00:28:08:11

but also help with some of 

00:28:08:13 - 00:28:09:21

our climate ambitions. 

00:28:10:14 - 00:28:11:21

But importantly, I always love 

00:28:11:23 - 00:28:12:21

getting out to keeps land. 

00:28:12:23 - 00:28:13:26

This is something that keeps 

00:28:13:28 - 00:28:15:21

me grounded, is going out and 

00:28:15:23 - 00:28:17:10

speaking to everyday people and 

00:28:17:22 - 00:28:19:02

hearing their stories. 

00:28:19:15 - 00:28:21:21

And I was recently fortunate to 

00:28:21:23 - 00:28:23:20

tour the lone power station in 

00:28:23:22 - 00:28:25:25

the Latrobe Valley where 

00:28:26:08 - 00:28:27:15

the person, they told me they'd 

00:28:27:17 - 00:28:29:12

been mining coal for 100 

00:28:29:14 - 00:28:31:01

years since 1922. 

00:28:31:20 - 00:28:32:28

And there's an enormous sense 

00:28:33:00 - 00:28:35:01

of pride and self-respect that 

00:28:35:03 - 00:28:37:22

comes with that reputation that 

00:28:37:24 - 00:28:38:21

that region has. 

00:28:39:08 - 00:28:41:18

So being able to offer a new 

00:28:41:20 - 00:28:43:13

opportunity and this is what 

00:28:43:27 - 00:28:45:11

several of the workers down 

00:28:45:13 - 00:28:46:18

there said to us and people who 

00:28:46:20 - 00:28:48:02

live down by the coast is this 

00:28:48:04 - 00:28:50:05

is a project that represents 

00:28:50:07 - 00:28:51:04

hope and opportunity. 

00:28:51:06 - 00:28:52:15

It's the first project that 

00:28:52:17 - 00:28:54:26

really has been seriously 

00:28:54:28 - 00:28:56:24

proposed in the last 30 years 

00:28:56:26 - 00:28:58:12

that has a chance of getting 

00:28:58:14 - 00:28:59:15

out because that had a lot of 

00:28:59:17 - 00:29:00:24

people come and go and promise 

00:29:00:26 - 00:29:01:23

lots of big things and 

00:29:01:25 - 00:29:02:17

then leave town. 

00:29:03:07 - 00:29:04:21

So I think there's a lot of, 

00:29:05:24 - 00:29:07:21

you know, community spirit that 

00:29:07:23 - 00:29:09:28

drives a project like this. 

00:29:10:00 - 00:29:11:15

And it's really, you know, 

00:29:11:17 - 00:29:12:11

I love getting out there to 

00:29:12:13 - 00:29:13:09

Gippsland and hearing, 

00:29:13:19 - 00:29:15:09

hearing people's stories and 

00:29:15:11 - 00:29:17:00

hopefully contributing to it 

00:29:17:05 - 00:29:18:06

and being one of the, 

00:29:19:05 - 00:29:20:08

you know, being the first wind 

00:29:20:10 - 00:29:21:03

farm that gets up in 

00:29:21:05 - 00:29:22:14

their region offshore. 

00:29:23:14 - 00:29:24:15

I'm glad you've touched on 

00:29:25:18 - 00:29:27:03

Gippsland and particularly the 

00:29:27:05 - 00:29:29:25

Latrobe Valley and the the 

00:29:29:27 - 00:29:31:01

large industry which has 

00:29:31:03 - 00:29:31:27

existed down there for 

00:29:31:29 - 00:29:32:15

a long time. 

00:29:33:03 - 00:29:35:02

I had the pleasure of working 

00:29:35:04 - 00:29:38:15

with another company in the 

00:29:38:17 - 00:29:39:29

power industry in Australia, 

00:29:40:09 - 00:29:41:14

particularly Victoria, who were 

00:29:41:16 - 00:29:42:22

responsible for managing all 

00:29:42:24 - 00:29:43:20

that through the transmission 

00:29:43:22 - 00:29:44:26

networks around the state. 

00:29:45:19 - 00:29:47:24

And they, they had enormous 

00:29:47:26 - 00:29:50:00

pride in being part of 

00:29:50:02 - 00:29:51:06

an industry, in their words, 

00:29:51:08 - 00:29:52:22

which keeps the lights on, 

00:29:53:06 - 00:29:54:17

which allows hospitals to 

00:29:54:19 - 00:29:56:13

operate 24 seven, which allows 

00:29:56:15 - 00:29:58:02

schools to operate, which allow 

00:29:58:04 - 00:29:59:02

traffic lights to work, 

00:29:59:04 - 00:30:00:18

which means that people can be 

00:30:00:20 - 00:30:01:27

mobile and get around in their 

00:30:01:29 - 00:30:03:22

vehicles and have, you know, 

00:30:03:24 - 00:30:05:22

minimise risk that allow, 

00:30:05:24 - 00:30:06:17

you know, people to have 

00:30:06:19 - 00:30:08:02

entertainment that has to have 

00:30:08:04 - 00:30:09:00

lights on at night. 

00:30:09:02 - 00:30:10:03

There's all of these, 

00:30:10:29 - 00:30:12:13

these things that happen in our 

00:30:12:15 - 00:30:14:23

society which are dependent 

00:30:14:25 - 00:30:16:05

upon the provision 

00:30:16:07 - 00:30:18:13

of reliable energy. 

00:30:20:00 - 00:30:21:23

And I know that that therefore 

00:30:21:25 - 00:30:23:15

has been a strong source of 

00:30:23:17 - 00:30:24:13

pride for people. 

00:30:24:15 - 00:30:26:05

You mentioned the the workers 

00:30:26:07 - 00:30:27:21

down in at your own 

00:30:27:23 - 00:30:28:23

power station, you know, 

00:30:28:27 - 00:30:29:22

haven't been involved in a 

00:30:29:24 - 00:30:30:29

100 year industry. 

00:30:31:12 - 00:30:32:19

And ofcourse Gippsland is the 

00:30:32:21 - 00:30:33:26

region in which the state of 

00:30:33:28 - 00:30:35:01

the south offshore wind farm 

00:30:35:03 - 00:30:35:25

will be located. 

00:30:36:08 - 00:30:37:14

It's also the region in which 

00:30:37:16 - 00:30:38:18

the bulk of Victoria's coal 

00:30:38:20 - 00:30:39:28

fired power plants 

00:30:40:00 - 00:30:40:17

are located. 

00:30:40:29 - 00:30:42:19

And it's reasonable to assume 

00:30:42:21 - 00:30:44:01

therefore that that, you know, 

00:30:44:03 - 00:30:44:21

if you were going to have 

00:30:44:23 - 00:30:46:06

resistance in the shift 

00:30:46:08 - 00:30:47:25

to renewables, that it might 

00:30:47:27 - 00:30:48:28

come from this region. 

00:30:49:23 - 00:30:50:29

You've partly answered this, 

00:30:51:01 - 00:30:52:00

but what have you actually 

00:30:52:02 - 00:30:53:19

experienced on the ground as 

00:30:53:21 - 00:30:54:19

you and the team have gone 

00:30:54:21 - 00:30:56:02

about engaging with community 

00:30:56:04 - 00:30:57:06

and conducting various 

00:30:57:08 - 00:30:58:06

technical surveys and 

00:30:58:08 - 00:30:58:23

assessments? 

00:30:59:13 - 00:31:01:15

Oh, look, I think in 

00:31:01:17 - 00:31:02:22

the early days. 

00:31:03:23 - 00:31:04:12

Straight after 

00:31:04:14 - 00:31:05:07

Hazelwood closed. 

00:31:05:09 - 00:31:06:11

That was quite a role because 

00:31:06:13 - 00:31:08:10

it was a shock and there was 

00:31:08:12 - 00:31:09:08

not a lot of notice 

00:31:09:10 - 00:31:10:14

for that closure. 

00:31:11:18 - 00:31:12:13

And there was still a lot of 

00:31:12:15 - 00:31:13:18

people at the time talking 

00:31:13:20 - 00:31:15:21

about maybe there would be some 

00:31:15:23 - 00:31:17:04

new power stations built. 

00:31:17:06 - 00:31:19:14

But I think people in that 

00:31:19:16 - 00:31:21:01

region are very switched on and 

00:31:21:12 - 00:31:22:25

they know that there's no one 

00:31:22:27 - 00:31:24:07

else now that's going to be 

00:31:24:09 - 00:31:25:20

building new coal 

00:31:25:22 - 00:31:27:02

fired power stations. 

00:31:27:17 - 00:31:28:18

It's just not something 

00:31:28:20 - 00:31:29:26

that is financeable. 

00:31:30:09 - 00:31:32:18

And so they are really, 

00:31:32:20 - 00:31:34:24

really keen, at least a lot of 

00:31:34:26 - 00:31:35:27

the people I speak to, 

00:31:35:29 - 00:31:36:21

you know, do want to speak on 

00:31:36:23 - 00:31:37:20

behalf of everyone 

00:31:38:01 - 00:31:38:23

in that region. 

00:31:38:25 - 00:31:40:21

But I've seen so much optimism 

00:31:40:23 - 00:31:42:18

and enthusiasm for 

00:31:42:20 - 00:31:45:17

offshore wind, and I think it's 

00:31:45:19 - 00:31:47:01

been really pleasing to be 

00:31:47:03 - 00:31:48:11

welcomed into that community. 

00:31:48:13 - 00:31:49:18

It's quite humbling to be 

00:31:49:20 - 00:31:51:03

welcomed into that community 

00:31:51:18 - 00:31:53:18

and to have people wanting to 

00:31:53:20 - 00:31:54:24

work with you and share their 

00:31:54:26 - 00:31:57:27

stories and share more about 

00:31:58:03 - 00:31:59:10

their workforce and their 

00:31:59:12 - 00:32:00:25

transition planning so that we 

00:32:00:27 - 00:32:03:05

can collaborate on finding 

00:32:03:07 - 00:32:03:27

those opportunities 

00:32:03:29 - 00:32:05:10

together going forward. 

00:32:06:17 - 00:32:07:20

I think one of the biggest 

00:32:07:22 - 00:32:09:09

challenges for us is. 

00:32:10:13 - 00:32:12:03

Managing those expectations. 

00:32:12:05 - 00:32:13:10

And as you know, it's such 

00:32:13:26 - 00:32:14:28

an uncertain world. 

00:32:15:00 - 00:32:16:16

We can't pinpoint exactly when 

00:32:16:18 - 00:32:17:21

things are going to take off 

00:32:17:23 - 00:32:18:08

and when they're going 

00:32:18:10 - 00:32:19:01

to happen, because there's a 

00:32:19:03 - 00:32:21:01

lot of external factors. 

00:32:21:17 - 00:32:23:02

So trying to to keep that 

00:32:23:04 - 00:32:25:07

balance between showing this 

00:32:25:09 - 00:32:26:27

opportunity and working 

00:32:26:29 - 00:32:28:18

together to achieve it, 

00:32:29:02 - 00:32:30:12

but equally being very honest 

00:32:30:14 - 00:32:31:25

and open that there's still a 

00:32:31:27 - 00:32:33:13

lot of things to do before we 

00:32:33:15 - 00:32:34:14

can make it happen. 

00:32:35:15 - 00:32:37:08

And I had I had a funny visit 

00:32:37:19 - 00:32:39:00

last year, I think it was at 

00:32:39:05 - 00:32:40:15

one of the Coast Guards and 

00:32:41:06 - 00:32:42:06

down at Poole Welshpool. 

00:32:42:08 - 00:32:43:02

And they said, you know, 

00:32:43:04 - 00:32:43:22

always thought you've 

00:32:43:24 - 00:32:44:27

projected going away. 

00:32:44:29 - 00:32:45:21

What have you been doing? 

00:32:45:23 - 00:32:46:22

We haven't heard anything. 

00:32:47:05 - 00:32:47:26

And of course, we've been 

00:32:47:28 - 00:32:49:10

working extraordinarily hard in 

00:32:49:12 - 00:32:50:07

the background to keep 

00:32:50:09 - 00:32:50:24

it going. 

00:32:50:26 - 00:32:52:09

But because we've been talking 

00:32:52:11 - 00:32:53:12

about this for a while, 

00:32:53:22 - 00:32:54:27

there is that view that, 

00:32:54:29 - 00:32:56:06

that why is it not happening? 

00:32:56:12 - 00:32:59:06

And that's why not only Star of 

00:32:59:08 - 00:33:00:18

the South has a role to play in 

00:33:00:20 - 00:33:01:22

getting the industry going, 

00:33:01:24 - 00:33:04:13

but also others such as supply 

00:33:04:15 - 00:33:05:24

chain and all of 

00:33:05:26 - 00:33:07:00

the necessary suppliers. 

00:33:07:02 - 00:33:08:07

You need to build this industry 

00:33:08:09 - 00:33:09:07

government with the right 

00:33:09:09 - 00:33:11:03

regulatory settings and also 

00:33:11:05 - 00:33:13:17

local communities to share 

00:33:13:19 - 00:33:15:04

their views and input and speak 

00:33:15:06 - 00:33:16:01

up for what they want to see 

00:33:16:03 - 00:33:16:25

in their communities. 

00:33:16:27 - 00:33:18:26

So it really is a joint effort 

00:33:19:07 - 00:33:20:06

and something that we're going 

00:33:20:08 - 00:33:21:11

to have to keep working towards 

00:33:21:13 - 00:33:22:14

over the next few years. 

00:33:23:03 - 00:33:25:03

MM And so in the early days 

00:33:25:05 - 00:33:26:08

when it felt like there was, 

00:33:26:14 - 00:33:26:29

it was more 

00:33:28:18 - 00:33:30:05

most more of a cynical view or 

00:33:30:07 - 00:33:31:10

more criticism of it 

00:33:31:12 - 00:33:32:08

or more resistance. 

00:33:33:09 - 00:33:34:18

How did you and then you've got 

00:33:34:21 - 00:33:36:16

over on top of that and how did 

00:33:36:18 - 00:33:37:25

you sustain yourself during 

00:33:37:27 - 00:33:38:26

those difficult times as a 

00:33:38:28 - 00:33:40:17

leader when you still have to 

00:33:40:19 - 00:33:41:22

get up regularly in front of 

00:33:41:24 - 00:33:43:00

people and mobilise them? 

00:33:43:02 - 00:33:44:03

How do you just how do you how 

00:33:44:05 - 00:33:45:07

did you sustain yourself and 

00:33:45:09 - 00:33:46:07

mobilise yourself? 

00:33:49:07 - 00:33:51:02

Look, I think I do joke about 

00:33:51:04 - 00:33:52:08

this quite often, but I'm a 

00:33:52:10 - 00:33:54:02

Richmond supporter in the AFL 

00:33:54:04 - 00:33:55:05

and we had a lot of 

00:33:55:07 - 00:33:55:27

hard years. 

00:33:56:12 - 00:33:58:28

So I often talk about that 

00:33:59:00 - 00:34:00:15

experience being very character 

00:34:00:17 - 00:34:01:27

building when your team gets 

00:34:01:29 - 00:34:04:06

beaten time and time again. 

00:34:04:09 - 00:34:05:15

And then we had some 

00:34:05:17 - 00:34:07:12

extraordinary success between 

00:34:07:14 - 00:34:09:20

the years of 2017 and 2020, 

00:34:10:05 - 00:34:12:14

and that has been something 

00:34:12:16 - 00:34:13:28

that I also take into my 

00:34:14:00 - 00:34:16:03

work life, that that experience 

00:34:16:05 - 00:34:18:18

of having those hard times and 

00:34:18:20 - 00:34:20:00

having those moments where you 

00:34:20:02 - 00:34:21:16

really need to call on your 

00:34:21:18 - 00:34:22:28

resilience and your inner 

00:34:23:00 - 00:34:24:12

strength and remember what it 

00:34:24:14 - 00:34:26:05

is that you're working towards 

00:34:27:09 - 00:34:28:20

to to achieve the things that 

00:34:28:22 - 00:34:29:14

you need to achieve. 

00:34:29:18 - 00:34:32:13

So, look, I think, again, 

00:34:32:15 - 00:34:34:07

going back to that purpose and 

00:34:34:09 - 00:34:35:14

that sense of connection with 

00:34:35:16 - 00:34:37:15

the team, because you 

00:34:37:17 - 00:34:39:26

absolutely need to to galvanize 

00:34:39:28 - 00:34:40:23

to try and get these 

00:34:40:25 - 00:34:42:05

things done, you're going to 

00:34:42:07 - 00:34:43:25

have good days and bad days. 

00:34:43:26 - 00:34:46:01

But once again, focusing on 

00:34:46:03 - 00:34:47:17

that progress moving forward 

00:34:47:19 - 00:34:49:02

inch by inch, rather than 

00:34:49:04 - 00:34:50:08

achieving it all overnight, 

00:34:50:10 - 00:34:50:26

because it's just not 

00:34:50:28 - 00:34:51:15

going to happen. 

00:34:52:05 - 00:34:53:20

And I think the other important 

00:34:53:22 - 00:34:56:08

thing is we can spend a lot of 

00:34:56:10 - 00:34:57:18

time worrying about the things 

00:34:57:20 - 00:34:58:24

that we're not in control of. 

00:34:59:23 - 00:35:01:28

But ultimately it 

00:35:02:00 - 00:35:02:28

doesn't serve us. 

00:35:03:02 - 00:35:04:27

So trying to maintain that 

00:35:04:29 - 00:35:06:18

perspective of what is within 

00:35:06:20 - 00:35:07:19

our control and what we can 

00:35:07:21 - 00:35:09:21

influence and moving those 

00:35:09:23 - 00:35:10:29

things forward and trying not 

00:35:11:01 - 00:35:12:12

to be too distracted by what 

00:35:12:14 - 00:35:13:25

else is happening that we can't 

00:35:13:27 - 00:35:15:01

change or influence. 

00:35:15:17 - 00:35:16:06

Mm hmm. 

00:35:16:19 - 00:35:17:20

And in those days, 

00:35:18:13 - 00:35:20:05

particularly early on, when you 

00:35:20:13 - 00:35:21:12

were reaching out into 

00:35:21:14 - 00:35:23:13

the community, you've got this 

00:35:23:20 - 00:35:27:00

proposal and you're engaging 

00:35:27:02 - 00:35:28:13

people with diverse views and 

00:35:28:15 - 00:35:29:18

perspectives because they 

00:35:29:20 - 00:35:30:13

always exist within 

00:35:30:15 - 00:35:31:15

the community, some of which 

00:35:31:17 - 00:35:32:11

are going to be aligned with 

00:35:32:13 - 00:35:33:19

you and welcome you with 

00:35:33:21 - 00:35:34:27

championed what you're 

00:35:34:29 - 00:35:35:25

proposing and others who will 

00:35:35:27 - 00:35:36:25

be resistant to it. 

00:35:37:29 - 00:35:39:19

You may not like it, might be 

00:35:39:21 - 00:35:40:21

skeptical about it. 

00:35:41:04 - 00:35:42:11

What have you found are the 

00:35:42:13 - 00:35:44:12

keys to engaging with people 

00:35:44:14 - 00:35:46:00

when there are those diverse 

00:35:46:07 - 00:35:47:19

views and perspectives, some of 

00:35:47:21 - 00:35:48:22

which may not be aligned with 

00:35:48:24 - 00:35:49:09

yours? 

00:35:50:15 - 00:35:51:28

We have a value at Star of 

00:35:52:00 - 00:35:52:24

the South, which is 

00:35:52:26 - 00:35:53:25

to be respectful. 

00:35:54:03 - 00:35:55:18

And it's something that we. 

00:35:57:03 - 00:35:58:07

Strive to achieve with 

00:35:58:09 - 00:35:59:15

each other, but also with the 

00:35:59:17 - 00:36:00:15

stakeholders that we 

00:36:00:17 - 00:36:01:02

work with. 

00:36:01:04 - 00:36:02:24

So I think it's just so 

00:36:02:26 - 00:36:04:21

important to respect that 

00:36:04:23 - 00:36:06:21

people have different views and 

00:36:06:23 - 00:36:09:26

that's okay and our role is to 

00:36:09:28 - 00:36:11:11

listen to those views. 

00:36:11:24 - 00:36:13:25

If we can change something in 

00:36:13:27 - 00:36:16:12

our development to help address 

00:36:16:14 - 00:36:18:03

their concerns, then we should 

00:36:18:05 - 00:36:19:16

do that because it'll make a 

00:36:19:18 - 00:36:20:24

better project overall. 

00:36:21:24 - 00:36:23:01

But ultimately, if we can, 

00:36:23:03 - 00:36:24:00

if there's a fundamental 

00:36:24:02 - 00:36:26:12

difference in view, we point to 

00:36:26:14 - 00:36:27:28

the process where they can have 

00:36:28:00 - 00:36:30:07

that input both to ourselves 

00:36:30:09 - 00:36:31:05

but also through 

00:36:31:07 - 00:36:34:03

the authorities, because that 

00:36:34:05 - 00:36:35:07

is what democracy is 

00:36:35:09 - 00:36:35:26

all about. 

00:36:35:28 - 00:36:37:29

So I think it's it's so 

00:36:38:01 - 00:36:39:19

important and I've worked in 

00:36:39:21 - 00:36:40:22

this field of stakeholder 

00:36:40:24 - 00:36:42:02

engagement for a little while. 

00:36:42:17 - 00:36:44:19

And one of the most important 

00:36:44:21 - 00:36:45:29

things is just not 

00:36:46:01 - 00:36:46:22

to take anything. 

00:36:46:24 - 00:36:48:13

Personally, I respect that 

00:36:48:15 - 00:36:50:11

people have different views and 

00:36:51:09 - 00:36:52:03

listen to them. 

00:36:52:05 - 00:36:53:16

And I think the art of 

00:36:53:18 - 00:36:54:29

listening is something that we 

00:36:55:01 - 00:36:55:22

struggle with in 

00:36:55:24 - 00:36:56:26

society today. 

00:36:57:09 - 00:37:00:11

But I have found that even when 

00:37:00:21 - 00:37:02:18

I've had a really philosophical 

00:37:02:20 - 00:37:04:21

difference with someone or a 

00:37:04:23 - 00:37:05:20

stakeholder as being 

00:37:05:22 - 00:37:07:03

philosophically opposed to what 

00:37:07:05 - 00:37:08:00

it is that we're doing, 

00:37:08:12 - 00:37:09:01

we've still had a 

00:37:09:03 - 00:37:11:01

very respectful relationship. 

00:37:11:27 - 00:37:13:12

So I do remember one time in my 

00:37:13:14 - 00:37:14:28

career there was a protest 

00:37:15:00 - 00:37:16:21

group and they had a picket 

00:37:16:23 - 00:37:17:20

line where they were trying to 

00:37:17:22 - 00:37:19:03

stop the works that we were 

00:37:19:29 - 00:37:21:14

looking to roll out, which had 

00:37:21:16 - 00:37:22:13

been approved and 

00:37:22:15 - 00:37:23:22

where were continuing. 

00:37:24:14 - 00:37:25:21

But we still would sit around 

00:37:25:23 - 00:37:27:04

the table and have a cup of tea 

00:37:27:06 - 00:37:28:06

and you know, they'd offer me 

00:37:28:08 - 00:37:29:16

lunch and we'd sit there and 

00:37:29:18 - 00:37:30:28

have simple conversations and 

00:37:31:00 - 00:37:32:09

talk about our families, 

00:37:33:00 - 00:37:35:03

even though there was this 

00:37:35:12 - 00:37:37:00

protest action going on. 

00:37:37:26 - 00:37:39:08

But I think that that's so 

00:37:39:10 - 00:37:41:12

important because everyone 

00:37:41:14 - 00:37:42:24

deserves that that dignity 

00:37:42:26 - 00:37:44:09

and respect, despite the 

00:37:44:11 - 00:37:45:25

differences that we might have 

00:37:45:27 - 00:37:46:19

around a particular 

00:37:46:21 - 00:37:47:15

issue or topic. 

00:37:47:27 - 00:37:48:25

And I think we've seen that in 

00:37:48:27 - 00:37:49:29

the pandemic as well. 

00:37:50:01 - 00:37:51:06

It's been one of those 

00:37:52:06 - 00:37:54:00

polarising things, I think the 

00:37:54:02 - 00:37:55:18

different views, but certainly 

00:37:55:20 - 00:37:56:24

just trying to respect that 

00:37:56:26 - 00:37:57:26

there are different views out 

00:37:57:28 - 00:37:58:28

there and we should just get 

00:37:59:00 - 00:37:59:15

on with it. 

00:38:01:12 - 00:38:02:11

There's another aspect of 

00:38:02:13 - 00:38:03:00

leadership that I'm 

00:38:03:02 - 00:38:03:27

curious about, Erin. 

00:38:04:14 - 00:38:07:14

You're listed in the RWA w top 

00:38:07:16 - 00:38:09:02

100 women in power list. 

00:38:09:04 - 00:38:10:05

And this is a list that 

00:38:10:07 - 00:38:11:29

recognizes women of influence 

00:38:12:12 - 00:38:13:27

in the wind power industry. 

00:38:14:10 - 00:38:15:09

And it's an industry that's 

00:38:15:11 - 00:38:16:15

traditionally dominated 

00:38:16:17 - 00:38:18:10

by male engineers. 

00:38:19:01 - 00:38:20:08

You're neither male 

00:38:20:10 - 00:38:21:11

nor an engineer. 

00:38:21:17 - 00:38:22:22

You know, what are the unique 

00:38:22:24 - 00:38:24:02

opportunities or challenge that 

00:38:24:04 - 00:38:25:11

this has created for you? 

00:38:26:02 - 00:38:26:17

Mm hmm. 

00:38:26:27 - 00:38:27:25

First of all, I have to say I 

00:38:27:27 - 00:38:28:25

was really surprised 

00:38:28:27 - 00:38:30:08

at that inclusion. 

00:38:30:10 - 00:38:31:29

I woke up one day and had this 

00:38:32:01 - 00:38:33:18

email congratulating me for 

00:38:33:20 - 00:38:35:12

making the list, and I was 

00:38:35:14 - 00:38:36:07

a bit confused. 

00:38:36:09 - 00:38:37:19

And then I found out that 

00:38:38:04 - 00:38:39:09

several of my colleagues 

00:38:39:11 - 00:38:41:07

separately had nominated me 

00:38:41:09 - 00:38:42:05

for this list. 

00:38:42:07 - 00:38:44:08

And the fact that they 

00:38:44:10 - 00:38:45:15

nominated me actually meant 

00:38:45:17 - 00:38:46:20

more than than making 

00:38:46:22 - 00:38:47:21

the list, to be honest, 

00:38:47:23 - 00:38:49:25

because I just felt really 

00:38:50:10 - 00:38:51:24

pleased that, you know, 

00:38:51:26 - 00:38:53:13

they saw me in that way. 

00:38:54:19 - 00:38:56:03

I don't often think about it, 

00:38:56:05 - 00:38:57:00

and I think this is one 

00:38:57:02 - 00:38:57:21

of the things. 

00:38:58:05 - 00:39:00:17

And you often perhaps being 

00:39:00:19 - 00:39:01:06

one of the. 

00:39:02:18 - 00:39:04:03

You're in the minority in some 

00:39:04:05 - 00:39:05:09

of these instances, and not 

00:39:05:11 - 00:39:06:08

just in this industry, 

00:39:06:10 - 00:39:07:16

but probably my whole career 

00:39:07:18 - 00:39:09:00

working in major construction 

00:39:09:09 - 00:39:10:22

projects and infrastructure. 

00:39:12:21 - 00:39:14:01

You just get on with it because 

00:39:14:03 - 00:39:15:18

it is it is what it is. 

00:39:16:12 - 00:39:18:00

And there have been times where 

00:39:18:02 - 00:39:19:04

you are the only. 

00:39:20:06 - 00:39:22:17

Female in the room amongst a 

00:39:22:19 - 00:39:23:24

group of decision makers. 

00:39:23:26 - 00:39:24:11

But. 

00:39:25:16 - 00:39:26:29

These sorts of things I've 

00:39:27:01 - 00:39:28:09

learnt over time are important 

00:39:28:11 - 00:39:29:26

because there's again another 

00:39:29:28 - 00:39:31:20

saying you can't be what 

00:39:31:22 - 00:39:32:13

you can't see. 

00:39:32:24 - 00:39:35:24

So I remember yeah, that, 

00:39:35:26 - 00:39:37:18

that list came through and the 

00:39:37:20 - 00:39:39:07

people who organised it said, 

00:39:39:09 - 00:39:40:05

you know, here's the social 

00:39:40:07 - 00:39:41:19

media tiles and make sure 

00:39:41:21 - 00:39:42:20

you promote it. 

00:39:42:22 - 00:39:44:27

And I felt a bit weird about 

00:39:44:29 - 00:39:45:23

that because it felt a 

00:39:45:25 - 00:39:47:06

bit self-congratulatory, 

00:39:47:08 - 00:39:48:00

to be honest. 

00:39:48:02 - 00:39:50:01

But then I remember and after 

00:39:50:03 - 00:39:50:20

it was shared with 

00:39:50:22 - 00:39:52:00

my colleagues internally. 

00:39:52:24 - 00:39:53:23

Another colleague, 

00:39:53:25 - 00:39:55:26

they messaged me separately, 

00:39:56:05 - 00:39:57:12

just privately, and said, 

00:39:58:00 - 00:39:59:16

I told my teenage daughter 

00:39:59:18 - 00:40:02:09

about this today and she 

00:40:02:11 - 00:40:03:11

was really inspired. 

00:40:03:13 - 00:40:05:09

So I think for me it's been a 

00:40:05:11 - 00:40:06:16

challenge stepping into that 

00:40:06:18 - 00:40:08:08

role of being a female leader 

00:40:08:10 - 00:40:09:00

because it's a bit of 

00:40:09:02 - 00:40:10:27

a cliché, but then I've come to 

00:40:10:29 - 00:40:12:13

learn actually it's important 

00:40:13:13 - 00:40:15:03

to put a spotlight and show 

00:40:15:05 - 00:40:16:29

that there are opportunities. 

00:40:17:01 - 00:40:17:29

You just have to take them. 

00:40:18:13 - 00:40:19:23

And I think it goes back to 

00:40:19:25 - 00:40:21:07

that advice I had is those 

00:40:21:09 - 00:40:22:15

times when you're fearful, 

00:40:22:17 - 00:40:23:27

if you're in a minority, 

00:40:23:29 - 00:40:25:13

just say yes and figure it out 

00:40:25:15 - 00:40:26:25

later and you know, 

00:40:26:27 - 00:40:29:14

deal with it, just go for it, 

00:40:29:16 - 00:40:31:13

which is something I try to 

00:40:31:15 - 00:40:32:05

do these days. 

00:40:33:02 - 00:40:34:27

MM And because at the moment 

00:40:34:29 - 00:40:36:03

there's some seismic shifts 

00:40:36:05 - 00:40:36:28

that are underway in our 

00:40:37:00 - 00:40:40:03

society and I say thank God for 

00:40:40:05 - 00:40:41:28

that because such as women in 

00:40:42:00 - 00:40:44:25

leadership or even the energy 

00:40:44:27 - 00:40:46:09

transition to renewables and 

00:40:46:11 - 00:40:47:07

therefore the progress that 

00:40:47:09 - 00:40:47:24

we might make. 

00:40:47:26 - 00:40:48:26

Therefore with climate change, 

00:40:49:09 - 00:40:50:26

it must be thrilling and 

00:40:50:28 - 00:40:51:29

energizing to be at the 

00:40:52:01 - 00:40:53:12

convergence of these Erin. 

00:40:54:21 - 00:40:56:01

It is very exciting. 

00:40:57:08 - 00:40:58:02

You know, it's a 

00:40:58:04 - 00:40:59:12

challenging industry, but I 

00:40:59:14 - 00:41:01:04

feel so grateful to be part of 

00:41:01:06 - 00:41:03:13

it because it is just so 

00:41:03:15 - 00:41:04:26

interesting and you're learning 

00:41:04:28 - 00:41:07:03

things every day and how lucky 

00:41:07:05 - 00:41:08:10

to be at this stage of my 

00:41:08:12 - 00:41:10:19

career where I can actually be 

00:41:10:21 - 00:41:11:14

part of something. 

00:41:11:16 - 00:41:14:03

And I heard recently a speech 

00:41:14:05 - 00:41:15:15

from the former chief scientist 

00:41:15:17 - 00:41:16:22

of Australia and he said, 

00:41:16:24 - 00:41:18:27

you know, this is the early 

00:41:18:29 - 00:41:20:23

stages of the most fundamental 

00:41:20:25 - 00:41:24:08

shifts in how we generate power 

00:41:24:10 - 00:41:25:10

since our ancestors 

00:41:25:12 - 00:41:26:04

tamed fire. 

00:41:26:28 - 00:41:28:26

And and to think and you think 

00:41:28:28 - 00:41:30:11

back in these industrial ages, 

00:41:30:13 - 00:41:31:07

and as you mentioned, 

00:41:31:09 - 00:41:32:20

the transition from horse and 

00:41:32:22 - 00:41:34:04

cart to internal 

00:41:34:06 - 00:41:36:04

combustion engines, we really 

00:41:36:06 - 00:41:38:19

are at a global turning point 

00:41:38:21 - 00:41:40:03

for how we structure our 

00:41:40:05 - 00:41:41:08

society going forward, 

00:41:41:10 - 00:41:41:25

particularly in 

00:41:41:27 - 00:41:42:17

the energy space. 

00:41:42:19 - 00:41:44:13

So I do feel very lucky to be 

00:41:44:15 - 00:41:45:00

part of it. 

00:41:45:22 - 00:41:47:01

And I think again, that helps 

00:41:47:03 - 00:41:47:27

with those those 

00:41:47:29 - 00:41:48:23

harder moments, 

00:41:48:25 - 00:41:50:01

those challenging days, 

00:41:50:12 - 00:41:52:04

because ultimately you've got 

00:41:52:06 - 00:41:53:09

to keep that perspective. 

00:41:53:11 - 00:41:54:11

And I think perspectives are a 

00:41:54:13 - 00:41:55:13

really good thing when you're 

00:41:55:15 - 00:41:56:21

working in these environments. 

00:41:57:13 - 00:42:00:06

MM You said how exciting it is 

00:42:00:08 - 00:42:00:24

to also be 

00:42:00:26 - 00:42:03:28

learning constantly, and one of 

00:42:04:00 - 00:42:05:16

the things that both you and I 

00:42:05:18 - 00:42:07:25

know is that there is a, 

00:42:08:13 - 00:42:09:19

there is a bit of a fallacy 

00:42:09:21 - 00:42:10:21

that can exist in our 

00:42:10:23 - 00:42:12:16

society when, you know, 

00:42:12:26 - 00:42:14:02

people who might be earlier in 

00:42:14:04 - 00:42:15:09

their career look up towards 

00:42:15:11 - 00:42:16:24

senior leaders and think they 

00:42:16:26 - 00:42:18:03

must have it all sorted out. 

00:42:18:15 - 00:42:19:07

You know, they're in these 

00:42:19:09 - 00:42:20:08

roles because they've got 

00:42:20:10 - 00:42:21:02

all the answers. 

00:42:21:17 - 00:42:22:10

They know exactly 

00:42:22:12 - 00:42:23:00

what they're doing. 

00:42:23:15 - 00:42:24:13

And you and I know that's 

00:42:24:15 - 00:42:26:11

not true, that there are many 

00:42:26:13 - 00:42:28:01

times that we don't know what 

00:42:28:03 - 00:42:29:15

we're doing, that we're on the 

00:42:29:17 - 00:42:31:01

edge of our own, sort of 

00:42:31:03 - 00:42:32:13

knowing we're on the edge 

00:42:32:15 - 00:42:33:09

of our confidence. 

00:42:33:11 - 00:42:34:20

There's areas that we're trying 

00:42:34:22 - 00:42:35:07

to grow and 

00:42:35:09 - 00:42:36:20

develop ourselves into. 

00:42:37:21 - 00:42:38:28

One of the traditions on this 

00:42:39:00 - 00:42:41:00

podcast is to ask guests, 

00:42:41:05 - 00:42:42:03

you know, what is it that 

00:42:42:05 - 00:42:42:27

they're working on? 

00:42:42:29 - 00:42:44:12

So, Erin, what is it that 

00:42:44:14 - 00:42:45:12

you're working on in your 

00:42:45:14 - 00:42:46:06

leadership right now? 

00:42:47:15 - 00:42:49:07

I think it's a great thing to 

00:42:49:09 - 00:42:51:10

reflect on because one of the. 

00:42:52:12 - 00:42:53:29

Things that have stuck with me 

00:42:54:01 - 00:42:55:16

is another quote, which is it's 

00:42:55:18 - 00:42:57:28

not about being right. 

00:42:58:00 - 00:42:59:02

It's about getting it right. 

00:42:59:09 - 00:43:02:03

And I think that that notion of 

00:43:02:25 - 00:43:04:17

not telling but 

00:43:04:21 - 00:43:05:26

asking questions, 

00:43:05:28 - 00:43:09:06

remaining curious is something 

00:43:09:08 - 00:43:10:18

that all leaders need to be 

00:43:10:20 - 00:43:11:23

really cognizant of. 

00:43:11:25 - 00:43:12:18

And it's something that I 

00:43:12:20 - 00:43:13:20

remind myself of. 

00:43:14:06 - 00:43:15:18

And I think it's just this 

00:43:15:20 - 00:43:18:01

dynamic that you talk about in 

00:43:18:03 - 00:43:19:03

your book, actually, Jared, 

00:43:19:05 - 00:43:19:29

which I enjoyed reading 

00:43:20:01 - 00:43:21:24

very much, but that that 

00:43:21:26 - 00:43:24:02

dynamic of strength and warmth 

00:43:24:04 - 00:43:25:03

and trying to get that 

00:43:25:05 - 00:43:26:27

combination right and show up 

00:43:26:29 - 00:43:29:00

in the right ways is something 

00:43:29:02 - 00:43:29:26

that's really important 

00:43:29:28 - 00:43:30:13

for me. 

00:43:30:15 - 00:43:32:25

So I absolutely think there's 

00:43:32:27 - 00:43:35:03

still a lot to learn from from 

00:43:35:05 - 00:43:36:27

a leadership perspective and. 

00:43:37:26 - 00:43:39:02

Being able to, 

00:43:40:18 - 00:43:42:26

you know, have for me, it's a 

00:43:43:06 - 00:43:45:05

culture where people can tell 

00:43:45:07 - 00:43:46:05

you what they think 

00:43:46:11 - 00:43:47:12

is really important. 

00:43:47:14 - 00:43:49:02

So trying to create an 

00:43:49:04 - 00:43:50:11

environment that's inclusive 

00:43:50:13 - 00:43:52:17

enough that that people can 

00:43:52:19 - 00:43:54:01

actually give you that feedback 

00:43:54:03 - 00:43:55:13

and say this is where you 

00:43:55:15 - 00:43:56:07

need to improve. 

00:43:56:09 - 00:43:58:23

Erin, whether that comes from, 

00:43:58:25 - 00:43:59:15

you know, one of our 

00:43:59:17 - 00:44:00:29

students or, you know, 

00:44:01:01 - 00:44:03:05

my leaders, it's it's really 

00:44:03:07 - 00:44:04:00

important to me. 

00:44:04:02 - 00:44:05:09

So that's probably one of the 

00:44:05:11 - 00:44:06:27

things that I'm really keen to 

00:44:06:29 - 00:44:09:00

work on is ensure that there's 

00:44:09:02 - 00:44:09:24

that comfortable, 

00:44:09:26 - 00:44:11:23

open environment to share that 

00:44:11:25 - 00:44:13:22

feedback and continuously learn 

00:44:13:24 - 00:44:14:28

and grow and develop. 

00:44:15:28 - 00:44:16:13

Hmm. 

00:44:17:00 - 00:44:18:02

Well, thank you, Erin, 

00:44:18:04 - 00:44:18:24

for sharing that. 

00:44:19:02 - 00:44:21:28

And may I say thank you for 

00:44:22:00 - 00:44:22:21

joining us on the 

00:44:22:23 - 00:44:24:01

Extraordinary Ladies podcast. 

00:44:24:19 - 00:44:26:28

It's it's an extraordinary time 

00:44:27:00 - 00:44:27:16

that we're in. 

00:44:28:03 - 00:44:29:24

And the leadership that we need 

00:44:29:26 - 00:44:31:11

to continue to make progress 

00:44:31:13 - 00:44:32:16

with all of these things that 

00:44:32:18 - 00:44:33:21

we care about, you know, 

00:44:33:23 - 00:44:35:04

requires sustained effort, 

00:44:35:06 - 00:44:36:10

you know, requires real 

00:44:36:12 - 00:44:37:23

commitment to the to the 

00:44:37:25 - 00:44:38:15

active leadership, 

00:44:38:17 - 00:44:39:21

because leadership is about 

00:44:40:03 - 00:44:41:05

connecting with people. 

00:44:41:07 - 00:44:42:13

It's about engaging people. 

00:44:42:15 - 00:44:43:27

It's about mobilizing people. 

00:44:44:15 - 00:44:46:11

And often that work is hard and 

00:44:46:13 - 00:44:47:12

it's and it's difficult, 

00:44:47:14 - 00:44:48:17

but it's so important to 

00:44:48:19 - 00:44:49:04

do so. 

00:44:49:06 - 00:44:50:03

I really appreciate you joining 

00:44:50:05 - 00:44:51:19

us to share your own 

00:44:51:21 - 00:44:53:19

experiences of it, where it's 

00:44:53:21 - 00:44:55:23

been challenging, how you've 

00:44:55:25 - 00:44:56:29

been making progress. 

00:44:57:01 - 00:44:58:16

And also in this through this 

00:44:58:18 - 00:44:59:22

conversation at this moment, 

00:44:59:24 - 00:45:02:03

to celebrate the progress that 

00:45:02:05 - 00:45:02:23

that we're making 

00:45:02:25 - 00:45:03:13

in these areas. 

00:45:03:15 - 00:45:05:28

So thank you very much for for 

00:45:06:00 - 00:45:07:03

sharing so openly with us. 

00:45:07:26 - 00:45:09:00

Thank you for having me on. 

00:45:09:02 - 00:45:10:12

I've enjoyed the conversation.

00:45:12:13 - 00:45:14:04

I really enjoyed that 

00:45:14:06 - 00:45:16:00

conversation with Erin and I'm 

00:45:16:02 - 00:45:17:06

quite fortunate that I've been 

00:45:17:08 - 00:45:18:21

part of the journey with Star 

00:45:18:23 - 00:45:20:01

of the South, the leadership 

00:45:20:03 - 00:45:21:14

team there, and the the broad 

00:45:21:16 - 00:45:22:18

team for the last couple 

00:45:22:20 - 00:45:24:05

of years, leading through 

00:45:24:07 - 00:45:25:27

the volatility, uncertainty, 

00:45:25:29 - 00:45:27:04

complexity and ambiguity, 

00:45:27:06 - 00:45:29:12

not only of a energy transition 

00:45:29:14 - 00:45:30:15

here in Australia, but also 

00:45:30:17 - 00:45:31:19

a COVID pandemic. 

00:45:32:22 - 00:45:34:07

It's not easy work and I've 

00:45:34:09 - 00:45:35:19

been absolutely delighted to 

00:45:35:21 - 00:45:36:26

support them in doing that. 

00:45:37:06 - 00:45:38:09

A few things that I can 

00:45:38:11 - 00:45:40:01

corroborate and comment on from 

00:45:40:03 - 00:45:41:04

an insider's point of view. 

00:45:41:20 - 00:45:43:00

Erin talked about the 

00:45:43:02 - 00:45:44:01

power of purpose. 

00:45:44:14 - 00:45:46:16

Just how important purpose is 

00:45:47:03 - 00:45:48:19

in providing energy and 

00:45:48:21 - 00:45:50:07

motivation and a reason 

00:45:50:09 - 00:45:51:02

to keep going. 

00:45:51:04 - 00:45:52:14

A reason to keep leading. 

00:45:52:16 - 00:45:53:01

A reason to 

00:45:53:03 - 00:45:54:02

keep pushing forward. 

00:45:54:25 - 00:45:57:05

And I've seen firsthand how 

00:45:57:07 - 00:45:59:03

having a shared purpose has 

00:45:59:05 - 00:46:00:15

galvanized the Star of the 

00:46:00:17 - 00:46:04:00

South team to keep going and 

00:46:04:02 - 00:46:05:24

contributed to getting to where 

00:46:05:26 - 00:46:06:17

they are today. 

00:46:06:28 - 00:46:08:03

And they'll continue to use 

00:46:08:05 - 00:46:10:00

that purpose because even 

00:46:10:02 - 00:46:11:12

though people come and go, 

00:46:11:14 - 00:46:13:05

team members join and 

00:46:13:07 - 00:46:14:08

team members leave. 

00:46:15:03 - 00:46:16:05

It's the purpose that 

00:46:16:07 - 00:46:17:18

people gather around. 

00:46:17:20 - 00:46:18:17

It's the purpose that they 

00:46:18:19 - 00:46:19:10

sign up for. 

00:46:19:12 - 00:46:20:00

It's the purpose 

00:46:20:02 - 00:46:20:22

that they share. 

00:46:20:24 - 00:46:22:06

It creates the gravity that 

00:46:22:08 - 00:46:24:06

holds them together as they do 

00:46:24:08 - 00:46:26:09

this challenging and really 

00:46:26:11 - 00:46:28:10

important work around 

00:46:28:20 - 00:46:30:10

developing Australia's first 

00:46:30:12 - 00:46:31:08

offshore wind farm. 

00:46:32:17 - 00:46:33:16

Erin also talked 

00:46:33:18 - 00:46:34:11

about respect. 

00:46:34:13 - 00:46:36:07

This idea about listening, 

00:46:36:09 - 00:46:37:16

genuinely listening to 

00:46:37:18 - 00:46:38:13

perspectives that are 

00:46:38:15 - 00:46:39:13

different than yours. 

00:46:39:29 - 00:46:40:20

This is such an 

00:46:40:22 - 00:46:42:28

important idea, not only in 

00:46:43:00 - 00:46:44:22

community leadership where 

00:46:44:24 - 00:46:45:22

you've got many different 

00:46:45:24 - 00:46:46:28

stakeholders with many 

00:46:47:00 - 00:46:48:12

different interests, but it's 

00:46:48:14 - 00:46:49:25

incredibly important in the 

00:46:49:27 - 00:46:50:20

work of leadership, 

00:46:50:22 - 00:46:52:09

even within an organization. 

00:46:52:28 - 00:46:54:02

There will be people that will 

00:46:54:04 - 00:46:54:19

have a different 

00:46:54:21 - 00:46:55:12

view than yours. 

00:46:56:08 - 00:46:57:18

The moment you stop listening 

00:46:57:20 - 00:46:59:27

to them, you give them a reason 

00:46:59:29 - 00:47:01:04

to point at you and say, 

00:47:01:06 - 00:47:01:29

You don't get this. 

00:47:02:06 - 00:47:03:10

You don't understand. 

00:47:03:16 - 00:47:04:20

You're not interested. 

00:47:04:27 - 00:47:06:03

And often what that does is it 

00:47:06:05 - 00:47:08:00

galvanizes their resistance and 

00:47:08:02 - 00:47:09:15

causes them to entrench 

00:47:09:17 - 00:47:12:01

themselves even deeper in in a 

00:47:12:03 - 00:47:12:25

resistant and 

00:47:12:27 - 00:47:14:06

antagonistic view. 

00:47:15:01 - 00:47:17:06

But if you listen to them and 

00:47:17:08 - 00:47:18:23

genuinely seek to understand 

00:47:18:25 - 00:47:19:20

their point of view, 

00:47:20:03 - 00:47:21:15

they're much more likely to be 

00:47:21:17 - 00:47:22:18

willing to engage with you. 

00:47:22:20 - 00:47:23:24

They're much more likely to be 

00:47:23:26 - 00:47:25:03

listening to listen to your 

00:47:25:05 - 00:47:25:21

point of view. 

00:47:26:11 - 00:47:27:26

And their resistance is likely 

00:47:27:28 - 00:47:29:22

to be less because even if they 

00:47:29:24 - 00:47:30:24

don't agree with your point 

00:47:30:26 - 00:47:31:28

of view, they're not 

00:47:32:00 - 00:47:33:13

experiencing you as hostile 

00:47:33:15 - 00:47:35:27

towards them, just that your 

00:47:35:29 - 00:47:37:04

view is different 

00:47:37:06 - 00:47:37:27

than they view. 

00:47:39:28 - 00:47:41:12

And importantly, the work of 

00:47:41:14 - 00:47:43:23

leadership is not just to lead 

00:47:43:25 - 00:47:46:00

on behalf of those who align 

00:47:46:02 - 00:47:46:21

with your view. 

00:47:46:23 - 00:47:48:11

Those who voted for you. 

00:47:48:23 - 00:47:50:26

Those who signed up your 

00:47:50:28 - 00:47:51:26

responsibilities to 

00:47:51:28 - 00:47:52:24

lead more broadly. 

00:47:53:18 - 00:47:54:20

And I think that's a really 

00:47:54:22 - 00:47:56:06

important selling point 

00:47:56:08 - 00:47:56:27

to finish on. 

00:47:57:17 - 00:47:59:02

The recent federal election in 

00:47:59:04 - 00:48:00:14

Australia was a 

00:48:00:16 - 00:48:01:28

referendum on leadership. 

00:48:02:17 - 00:48:04:04

It was a decision point about 

00:48:04:06 - 00:48:05:14

who the people of Australia 

00:48:05:16 - 00:48:06:21

wanted it to lead. 

00:48:07:27 - 00:48:09:04

Who the people in the 

00:48:09:06 - 00:48:09:29

electorate wanted 

00:48:10:01 - 00:48:11:00

to represent them. 

00:48:11:18 - 00:48:12:20

And I noticed that when 

00:48:12:22 - 00:48:14:08

the independents, the many 

00:48:14:10 - 00:48:15:24

independents who were voted in 

00:48:15:26 - 00:48:17:15

in record numbers, when they 

00:48:17:17 - 00:48:19:12

commented on why they think 

00:48:19:14 - 00:48:20:15

people voted for them, 

00:48:20:25 - 00:48:21:27

they always came back to the 

00:48:21:29 - 00:48:23:20

same thing that they were 

00:48:23:22 - 00:48:24:15

willing to listen. 

00:48:24:22 - 00:48:25:26

They were willing to listen to 

00:48:25:28 - 00:48:27:03

all of the people in their 

00:48:27:05 - 00:48:28:14

electorate and willing to 

00:48:28:16 - 00:48:29:25

represent their interests 

00:48:29:27 - 00:48:30:18

in their views. 

00:48:31:25 - 00:48:33:26

They also talked about standing 

00:48:33:28 - 00:48:35:15

up for and speaking out on the 

00:48:35:17 - 00:48:36:25

issues that people 

00:48:36:27 - 00:48:38:13

cared about, the issues of 

00:48:38:15 - 00:48:40:01

change and transformation. 

00:48:40:07 - 00:48:41:04

Climate change, 

00:48:41:21 - 00:48:42:26

energy transition. 

00:48:44:19 - 00:48:45:20

Equal opportunity. 

00:48:45:27 - 00:48:47:00

Women in leadership. 

00:48:48:10 - 00:48:49:07

Treatment of women. 

00:48:49:24 - 00:48:51:21

Indigenous reconciliation. 

00:48:52:12 - 00:48:53:27

Indigenous representation. 

00:48:54:25 - 00:48:56:01

These are all issues that have 

00:48:56:03 - 00:48:56:18

required 

00:48:56:27 - 00:48:59:03

persistence and tenacity. 

00:49:00:00 - 00:49:01:26

By leaders in all sorts 

00:49:01:28 - 00:49:04:20

of places, and hopefully we're 

00:49:04:22 - 00:49:05:21

going to make some progress. 

00:49:06:11 - 00:49:07:08

But for now, thanks for 

00:49:07:10 - 00:49:07:25

listening to the 

00:49:07:27 - 00:49:09:03

Extraordinary Leaders podcast. 

00:49:09:06 - 00:49:10:19

It's been an absolute delight 

00:49:10:21 - 00:49:12:15

to have you join Erin and I 

00:49:12:17 - 00:49:13:18

for this conversation. 

00:49:14:00 - 00:49:15:06

Don't forget that you can 

00:49:15:17 - 00:49:16:15

download all of 

00:49:16:17 - 00:49:17:19

the previous episodes. 

00:49:17:21 - 00:49:19:05

You can hit subscribe on 

00:49:19:07 - 00:49:20:10

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00:49:20:12 - 00:49:21:11

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00:49:21:13 - 00:49:24:06

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00:49:26:15 - 00:49:27:11

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00:49:27:13 - 00:49:28:27

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00:49:28:29 - 00:49:31:03

So that's WW dot extraordinary 

00:49:31:05 - 00:49:32:23

leaders dot com that are you 

00:49:33:01 - 00:49:33:17

remember that 

00:49:33:20 - 00:49:35:06

extraordinary without any. 

00:49:35:27 - 00:49:37:02

And I'll look forward to 

00:49:37:04 - 00:49:37:19

joining you for 

00:49:37:21 - 00:49:38:16

the next episode. 

00:49:39:15 - 00:49:40:22

Take care laid well.