CEO speech to the GEA Major Industry Conference, Gladstone Future Capability and Industrial Evolution

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Good afternoon. I'm David Shankey, CEO of the Net Zero Economy Authority. Thank you, Patrick and the Gladstone Engineering Alliance, for the invitation to be here. 

The themes of this session are future capability and industrial evolution. They're concepts that are often discussed separately. But as everyone here knows, they're closely connected. Because industrial evolution doesn't start with a blank sheet of paper. It starts with the people, businesses, and industries that already exist within a region. The regions best positioned to navigate change are not the ones starting from scratch. They're the regions that understand their existing strengths and know how to build on them. 

That's particularly relevant in Central Queensland, a place I have been coming to for many years. The challenge is not putting a limit on future capability. It's recognising, strengthening and connecting what already exists within regions, building it up and out. In fact, one of the things we've learned through our work is that capability is easy to take for granted, until it's needed. That's what I'd like to focus on this afternoon. 

Future capability starts with what already exists. 

Every region starts from a different position. Gladstone's position is unique in Australia. This region already has many of the capabilities others are trying to build: 

• a highly skilled industrial workforce 
• established heavy industry 
• deep engineering capability 
• an internationally-significant multipurpose port
• energy infrastructure 
• export capability 
• operational experience across complex industrial processes 
• strong community support for more growth. 

The numbers tell the story. Central Queensland is home to 4 coal-fired power stations, 2 alumina refineries, an aluminium smelter, 14 coal mines and 3 LNG terminals. That's industrial capability at scale. It’s a system not a city – Australia’s largest concentrated heavy industry complex. Few places in the OECD combine coal, energy, bauxite gas and shipping at a scale comparable to here. Those assets have been built over decades. They are interdependent.  

What makes regions like Gladstone significant is not any single asset in isolation. It's the way capability builds over time: 

• skills attract industry 
• industry develops suppliers 
• suppliers build expertise 
• expertise creates confidence to take on increasingly complex work. 

Over time, that creates an industrial ecosystem that is difficult to replicate. It's also one of the reasons our regional analysis identified Central Queensland as being well-placed to build on existing strengths in new sovereign capability areas such as: 

• green metals
• advanced minerals processing
• defence manufacturing
• sustainment. 

The task now is more than simply building new capability – it is understanding how existing capability can evolve, adapt and support the next phase of industrial development. 

Protecting the industrial base 

When we talk about industrial evolution, it's easy to focus on what is being built. The new project, facility or opportunity. But industrial capability is accumulated. It is built through decades of operating experience. 

One of the observations emerging from our work in Central Queensland is that regions are often managing 2 tasks simultaneously. Supporting new economic activity while maintaining the industrial foundations that already exist. Industrial evolution is not simply a question of what comes next – it's also a question of what needs to be sustained: 

• the workforce capability that employers rely on
• the engineering and technical expertise embedded within local businesses 
• the supplier networks that support industrial operations every day. 

These are not legacy assets. They are the foundation from which future sovereign opportunities are delivered. Protecting the industrial base is ultimately about ensuring regions retain the capability and capacity needed to respond to change as it occurs. 

What NZEA is doing in Central Queensland 

In Central Queensland, our work is focused on helping regions navigate economic and industrial change in practical ways. That's particularly important in a region with an estimated 12,400 fossil fuel workers in Central Queensland, predominately employed in coal mining, making up approximately 10% of the region’s workforce. We're working with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations on regional workforce planning, recognising that workforce challenges look different across Gladstone, Rockhampton, Emerald, Biloela and the wider region. 

That work is informed by analysis undertaken by NZEA, which underlined Central Queensland's deep industrial skills base, strong vocational training pathways and significant opportunities in sectors that can leverage existing workforce capability. 

Alongside the analysis work, we are engaging with industry and regional partners to strengthen understanding of local supply chains and industrial capability. We're also undertaking industrial ecosystem mapping across Central Queensland. The purpose is to understand how projects, suppliers, infrastructure and industry connect across the region. And how different combinations unleash different opportunities for the region. 

Projects don't operate in isolation. Rather, they depend on a broader industrial ecosystem. And understanding those connections helps identify: 

• where pressures are emerging 
• where opportunities exist for local businesses
• where targeted action can help strengthen regional outcomes. 

Gladstone Power Station and workforce capability 

The Energy Industry Jobs Plan, or EIJP, is a regulatory framework. It regulates employers by requiring them to take reasonable steps to support their employees to prepare for new employment. Support can include career planning, financial advice, training, and access to paid time off or flexible work arrangements to access those supports. It can cover employees at a closing power station, as well as those in the supply chain. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) makes the final decision on which employers are regulated under the EIJP framework. 

CS Energy formally notified the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) of a proposed (not yet confirmed) closure for Gladstone Power Station on 31 March 2029. In response to this notification to AEMO, a Community of Interest (COI) process commenced on 24 July this year. The statutory deadline for an application to the FWC is 31 March 2027. So far there’s been a strong interest with more than 80 responses received during the public consultation process. 

Alongside applications made in the FWC for an EIJP, the Authority will provide complementary redeployment supports to help identify career paths and connect workers with future employment opportunities in their local region. This includes: 

• identifying businesses who may be able to offer jobs to impacted workers by becoming ‘receiving employers’
• offering hiring incentives to encourage employers to hire impacted workers. 

That's the practical focus of the work already underway in Central Queensland and priority regions across Australia. Workforce transition doesn't occur in a vacuum – workers, businesses and supply chains are all part of the same system. The question is how we ensure each is positioned to participate and benefit from the opportunities emerging across the region. 

Supply chains and industrial capability 

I recently attended a GEA workshop where a consistent theme emerged – participation. Regional businesses often have the capability to contribute, but proponents don't always know what's available locally. That's one reason we're developing the Central Queensland Supplier Showcase – helping make local capability more visible across the region. 

This work has been guided by a local reference group, including the GEA, Central QLD University, the regional council, as well as QLD Government and industry partners. Our supplier showcase: 

• creates a shared evidence base to identify regional capability and opportunities to collaborate across sectors
• identifies and profiles businesses that are well positioned to support industrial growth across Central Queensland
• serves a practical purpose by helping proponents see how future supply-chain needs can be met locally. 

We're also mapping the region's industrial ecosystem, building on work undertaken by the state government and insights shared by industry and project proponents. This project sets out an integrated view of Central QLD’s industrial ecosystem. The map covers 6 local government areas and highlights that – Gladstone remains the densest industrial node, with the surrounding region incorporating the agricultural, mining, energy and processing activity. 

Importantly, this isn't about creating a new vision. Our role is to help provide a clearer picture of how capability connects across the system. Understanding those connections helps identify strengths, emerging pressures and opportunities for action. One element of the supply chain mapping project is the ambition to showcase First Nations businesses capability in the region. The guidance of key stakeholders such as the First Nations Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been critical as we build out this work. 

Separately, we see value in working with the First Nations Chamber of Commerce and others to generate information on their intersection with First Nations rights, interests and aspirations, to help inform future priorities. The strongest outcomes occur when employment, procurement, supplier participation and partnerships are considered from the outset. That requires more than good intentions. It requires a clear understanding of the region's industrial ecosystem and how its different parts connect. 

If you have the opportunity during the conference, I'd encourage you to visit the NZEA booth to learn more about our ecosystem and capability mapping work and share your perspective and insights with us. They are practical examples of the work underway to better understand the connectedness of industry across Central Queensland and where future opportunities may emerge. 

Partnership and coordination 

The ecosystem mapping reinforces a simple reality – no single organisation delivers these outcomes alone. Not government, industry, project proponents, training providers, or local businesses or communities. The most successful regions are usually those where different parts of the system are pulling in the same direction. Workforce challenges don't sit neatly within workforce systems. Supply-chain challenges aren't solved by suppliers alone. And regional opportunities rarely align with organisational boundaries. 

We've seen this through our work with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. Central Queensland is not a single labour market. Gladstone, Rocky, Biloela and Emerald – each have different industries, workforce dynamics and challenges. 

A key element of the Australian Government’s response to the workforce transition underway in Gladstone has been led by the Australian Government through the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), with on-the-ground support provided by Regional Workforce Transition Officer Noni Ryan and Program Officer Melissa Hodges. They have worked to understand the opportunities and challenges associated with the energy transition and its impacts on the local labour market. This place-based approach has helped ensure local priorities and community perspectives inform workforce transition planning, while strengthening collaboration between industry, government and the broader community. 

Understanding those differences is just as important as understanding what they have in common. Part of NZEA's role is helping connect those pieces. Sometimes that means bringing together organisations that wouldn't normally be sitting around the same table. It means identifying barriers that sit between institutions rather than within them. And it also means helping turn a shared challenge into a shared response. 

The next chapter starts with what remains

One of the things I've learned through our regional engagement work is that capability is often most visible when it's under pressure. Like when a: 

• business can't find the skills it needs 
• project can't access the suppliers it expects
• region discovers the expertise it has relied on for decades is not easily replaced. 

That's because capability is accumulated, not created on demand. It's built over time through experience, skills development, relationship building, and practice. And that's particularly true in Central Queensland. 

The strengths that make this region significant didn't emerge overnight. The task now is not starting again – it's making sure those strengths continue to evolve. 

The future of this region won't be determined by what is announced here – it will be determined by what remains here: 

• skills that are retained 
• businesses that continue to grow 
• industries that adapt and endure
• capability that is passed on to the next generation. 

These are the things that will determine whether a region becomes stronger over time. Because as I have said, capability is easy to take for granted, until it's needed. That's why so much of our work is focused on ensuring the industrial strengths that already exist here are not simply retained but built upon. 

Thank you.