'It won't work': WA opposition blasts 'State of Energy' ad campaign

In short:

A $30 million campaign by Western Australia's government to promote the state's efforts to transition to renewable energy has come under fire from the opposition.

The government says the "State of Energy" campaign is meant to showcase WA's potential to investors as well as engage the community.

But the shadow energy minister says the money would be better spent on technical elements of the transition.

Western Australia’s opposition has called a $30 million campaign to promote the state's renewable energy transition a waste of money, saying the cash would be better spent on upgrading facilities.

Premier Roger Cook announced the campaign, which appears to be one of the state's biggest advertising efforts, to spruik the government's efforts in March, saying it would "showcase the promise of Western Australia to the world".

The opposition's shadow energy minister, Steve Thomas, disagrees.

"We all know that we'll be looking at an extension of coal, we know there's not enough renewables in the system, and we know under the current plan the lights will go out by 2029," he said.

"They're trying to convince people that this plan will work when we all know that it will not."

The money has been allocated to the "State of Energy" campaign over this financial year and next, including $12 million for a "global campaign".

By comparison, Lotterywest — one of the state government's biggest advertisers according to annual statistics — reported spending $19 million on advertising in 2024-25, the most recent year for which data is available.

Transition timeline in doubt

According to the state government, the "State of Energy" campaign runs across TV, radio, print, online, cinema and billboards.

It also includes a website which explains the government's efforts to move away from state-owned coal-fired power by the end of 2029 as part of its broader transition.

A three-and-a-half page spread in the state's only daily newspaper on Sunday highlighted renewable energy generation on WA's main power grid almost tripling in the time Labor has been in power.

It also advertised the state government "fast-tracking three new wind farms" as well as the state's domestic gas reservation scheme, which it said helped with "backing renewables and batteries to secure reliable and affordable energy for households".

Mr Cook recommitted to the 2029 timeline in Collie, which he visited last week to push for a merger between WA's last remaining coal miners.

But Dr Thomas maintained it remained unrealistic, and said the government would be better off spending the money earmarked for the campaign on the actual transition.

"There's still not enough generation and not enough transmission in the plan the government has to date," he said.

"$30 million would buy you a new substation where it's required, it would buy you an upgrade to certain lines, for example, it will put reliability into certain suburbs."

A government spokesperson said the opposition had "no credible plan for … WA's energy future" and "has no credibility on the issue".

Promoting the transition

The campaign was about "ensuring Western Australians continue to be actively engaged in the state's energy transition", the spokesperson said.

"It is providing up-to-date information to local industry on the Made in WA manufacturing opportunities generated by the transition and supports state-wide community engagement on planned renewable energy projects including the pipeline of local jobs," they said.

The international campaign, they said, promoted "Western Australia's industry capabilities and competitive advantage as a renewable energy powerhouse to global investment and trade partners".

"It is a continuation of ongoing efforts to support the promotion of investment opportunities in the state's energy transition, as well as positioning WA as an ideal destination to work, study and do business," the spokesperson said.

Strategic communication and public relations expert Katharina Wolf questioned whether the campaign was the best way of achieving those goals.

"If I want to attract investment as a government, if I want to attract potential investors … advertising is probably not the first avenue I would consider because advertising is mass media," the Curtin University associate professor said.

"That's not where deals are being made. Deals are being made in one-on-one meetings, in boardrooms, and not necessarily around big billboard advertising."

How do you measure success?

Dr Wolf also questioned how the campaign would be assessed to decide if it was delivering value for money.

"Most government campaigns actually treat evaluation and measurement as an afterthought. It should come right upfront," she said.

"You can't measure stuff if you don't have clear objective to start out with, and that should be really the first starting point. What are we actually trying to measure? What are we trying to achieve?"

The state government spokesperson said the global campaign was being actively measured "across key metrics such as awareness of Western Australia and interest in coming to Western Australia to live, work, study or invest".

The domestic campaign's key metrics included "public awareness, understanding and literacy around the transition, and public confidence in the benefits of the transition".