New-look community representative groups for Borumba Project.

Queensland Hydro’s new-look Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG), focus groups and community benefits panel have now met for the first time, with 51 new members to deliver their insights on the Borumba Pumped Hydro Project.

From the early stages of the Project, the SRG played an important role in facilitating two-way communication, ensuring the community had a formal way to have their voices heard. The inaugural meeting of the first SRG was held on 21 April 2022. 

In May 2024, Queensland Hydro surveyed existing members on how to improve the scope and delivery of the group. The aim of the survey was to ensure the group continued to reflect the best needs of the community, and the meetings, content, and Terms of Reference were fit-for-purpose. 

In response to the feedback from existing members, Queensland Hydro redeveloped the format of the SRG and established additional focus groups to facilitate in-depth discussion on key topics. A panel, consisting of community members, was also established to assess applications for the new Community Grants Program. In July, Queensland Hydro opened an EOI for the new opportunities. Read more about the EOI process here.

Natasha Patterson, Executive General Manager of Communities and Environment said the newly established group ensured Queensland Hydro was continuing to evolve to meet community expectations.

“The first Stakeholder Reference Group was instrumental in shaping early engagement on the Borumba Project, and their insights helped inform the design and development of the proposed energy storage scheme.  

“We took the opportunity at the end of the first term to pause and reflect on where the natural next steps were. The SRG were clear in their desire to reshape the scope of the representative groups and we’ve taken that feedback on board.  

“As we look forward to the next phase of engagement, it's important that we continue to listen to, and meet the needs of, our local community.” 

Almost 70 community members responded to the EOI, representing a wide variety of views, backgrounds, expertise and strengths from across the community. Applications were assessed by a panel of Queensland Hydro staff and an independent assessor. Invitations were sent to the selected members in August 2024, and we welcomed them to the new groups at a morning tea in late August. The groups came together throughout October for their first meetings.  

“It is important to us that the community has real opportunities to share their ideas, concerns and feedback with us,” Ms Patterson said.  

“We’re incredibly lucky to have the quality of membership on our representative groups who can bring a diverse lens to our project. We’re really looking forward to working with them as we progress our work on the Borumba Project.”   

About the community groups

Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG)

The Borumba Project Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG) is a consultative group which aims to capture stakeholder feedback on the Project facilitating transparent, two-way community and stakeholder engagement. It is a core part of Queensland Hydro’s engagement with community, ensuring that stakeholder input informs the Project’s design, construction, and operation. SRG meetings provide a forum for discussions about wide ranging project topics such as environmental assessments, Project design, potential impacts, community benefits and more. 

Focus Groups

While the SRG covers a broad range of topics and updates, focus groups are designed to capture community and stakeholder feedback through facilitated in-depth discussions on dedicated topics. While each focus group will have a membership that is tailored to the specific topic, Queensland Hydro will seek to distribute interests and skill sets across the focus groups to ensure a diversity of perspectives are shared. 

Focus groups that have been developed include Imbil and surrounds focus group, regional focus group and environment focus group. A Kilcoy and surrounds focus group has been earmarked for future development.   

Community Benefits Panel

The Community Benefits Panel includes members independent of Queensland Hydro. The Panel will review, assess, and recommend eligible grant funding applications for funding for endorsement by Queensland Hydro. This ensures that funding decisions are made for the community, by the community. 

First published 22 November 2024.