The Price of Connection: Energy Justice, Kinship, and Prepaid Metering in Remote Kimberley Communities
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
28-5-2026 1:00 PM
Description
Our presentation will explore how Indigenous value systems, kinship obligations, and household resource sharing intersect with systemic poverty to shape electricity usage and access in the Kimberley. We will question the current ‘level-playing field’ approach to energy provision in this region, where, under the rubric of reconciliation and equality, energy models are conformative rather than transformative, and the logic of the individualised consumer model is elevated and expanded. This shift is not merely a practical one but is a moral-political move wherein the household, as opposed to ‘the community’, is reconstructed as the responsible agent. The neo-liberal approach, already well-established in remote community housing, welfare, employment and health, is now being applied to the energy transition – and as such is missing dimensions of value that don't map onto market frameworks. We draw on energy justice literature from other settler-colonial states to demonstrate that there are alternatives to this approach and call for a rethinking of Australia’s current approach in this space, where business as usual will likely have significant human and social costs in near the future.
Recommended Citation
Thorburn, Kathryn and Pigram, Lloyd, "The Price of Connection: Energy Justice, Kinship, and Prepaid Metering in Remote Kimberley Communities" (2026). Nulungu Research Week. 2.
https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/nulungu_researchweek/2026/schedule/2
The Price of Connection: Energy Justice, Kinship, and Prepaid Metering in Remote Kimberley Communities
https://notredame-au.zoom.us/j/83657718306
Passcode: 558558
Our presentation will explore how Indigenous value systems, kinship obligations, and household resource sharing intersect with systemic poverty to shape electricity usage and access in the Kimberley. We will question the current ‘level-playing field’ approach to energy provision in this region, where, under the rubric of reconciliation and equality, energy models are conformative rather than transformative, and the logic of the individualised consumer model is elevated and expanded. This shift is not merely a practical one but is a moral-political move wherein the household, as opposed to ‘the community’, is reconstructed as the responsible agent. The neo-liberal approach, already well-established in remote community housing, welfare, employment and health, is now being applied to the energy transition – and as such is missing dimensions of value that don't map onto market frameworks. We draw on energy justice literature from other settler-colonial states to demonstrate that there are alternatives to this approach and call for a rethinking of Australia’s current approach in this space, where business as usual will likely have significant human and social costs in near the future.
Comments
Session Facilitator: Vennessa Poelina