The information void that makes climate lies so effective in regional communities

When Chris Sounness sits down with communities across western Victoria to talk about renewable energy projects like wind and solar farms, he is often asked how they will change farming land and small towns.

As the chief executive of Wimmera Southern Mallee Development - a regional organisation that works between communities, companies and government on major projects - part of his job is helping people understand how these developments happen and why.

He says that work has taught him something important: misinformation in regional communities is often a sign of something deeper.

“You can’t fact-check your way out of a governance problem,” Sounness said.

What happened: Sounness’ comments come as a federal Senate inquiry into climate and energy misinformation found false and misleading claims are actively shaping public debate in areas like West Vic, delaying action on climate change and inflaming conflict in regional communities.

• A parliamentary inquiry - backed by Labor, the Liberals, the Greens and Independent Senator David Pocock, found there are coordinated misinformation campaigns actively working to mislead Australians. 

• The campaigns aim to delay action to reduce climate pollution, erode trust and inflame community conflict.

• The inquiry’s report identified “climate obstruction” as a systemic problem that is shaping public debate and policy outcomes.

• The report doesn’t provide an estimate for the amount of money spent on these campaigns, noting systemic gaps in transparency and financial disclosure laws.

• Recommendation four of the report calls on the government to explore ways to ensure greater transparency of campaign activities.

A deeper issue: Sounness said the issue on the ground in regional communities was more complicated than simply people being exposed to inaccurate information.

He said many people felt shut out of decision-making processes around major developments and were trying to raise concerns the only way they knew how.

• “I think a lot of what looks like misinformation or disinformation is actually a rational response to processes that do not treat communities as having legitimate interests worth protecting,” he said.

What’s an example? The inquiry heard misinformation about renewable energy projects - including health concerns about wind turbines - had spread in some communities. One of the recommendations from the inquiry is for the government to fund specific research into exactly this.

• Souness said scientific research could resolve many concerns about the health impacts of wind farms, so long as it was clearly independent and not linked to project developers.

• He said dismissing those concerns outright, instead of explaining the truth in a considered way, often made the situation worse and pushed people further away from the process.

“When they raise these issues, they’re given feedback that makes them feel like they’re silly or they’re ignorant,” he said. “That alienates the person and doesn’t make them feel part of the process.”

Too complex: The Senate inquiry also heard that a lack of clear, easy-to-understand information was helping misinformation spread.

The National Director of RE-Alliance, Andrew Bray, also submitted evidence to the inquiry. 

• RE-Alliance is a not-for-profit that advocates for regional communities as they shift to renewable energy.

Bray told the Gippsland Monitor : “One of the biggest contributors to community anxiety is not being able to access easy, factual, locally relevant and trusted information.”

• According to a News and Media Research Centre (NMRC) survey from 2025, nearly three quarters (74 percent) of Australians are concerned about misinformation, the highest percentage of any country in the survey.

“When there's an information void, we just see it filled time and time again by false and exaggerated claims,” Bray said. “It's important that the government step in and support the work that's happening at the local community level to get accurate information out.”

Through the grapevine: Sounness said word of mouth was one of the most powerful ways information travelled in rural areas of the Wimmera, meaning rumours and misunderstandings could spread quickly if clear information was not available.

• “Even if the information exists, but people have to go through a 99-page document that the government’s put out, who’s going to do that?” he said.

What should be done? Looking ahead, Sounness said rebuilding trust between companies, governments and communities would be critical as more renewable energy projects were built across regional Australia.’

“It’s not going to be through what they say. It’s going to be what they do,” he said.

• That could include investing in local housing, supporting local businesses, training local workers and helping create long-term career opportunities for young people in regional areas.

• Sounness said regional communities were not opposed to change, but wanted to be involved in decisions that affected them.

“I think often what gets left out of this discussion is what is important to the communities, and making sure as many people as possible have a say in what’s going on.”

What next? There are 21 recommendations in the report from the inquiry committee to the federal government to be actioned.