A lack of funding in the federal budget to create local energy hubs in renewable energy zones is a "missed opportunity" for Labor to show it is listening to regional communities.
The Renewable Energy Alliance and Community Power Agency made the call when a proposal for up to 50 hubs in rural and regional locations experiencing the most change from renewable energy was unanswered by Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
The groups said the hubs would improve community engagement by facilitating access to reliable information about Australia's shift to renewables which would, in turn, help Labor hit mandated 2030 and net-zero emissions reduction targets.
RE-Alliance National Director Andrew Bray said the organisation had been one stakeholder at the table in conversations with the government about the proposal, and while those conversations had been "positive", regional communities were now demanding that the government deliver.