Trust, community, and energy development – it starts with how we show up

The Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy recently released its final report, The Integrity Gap: Restoring Trust in the Climate and Energy Debate.

It lands at a critical moment. Across regional and rural Queensland – and right across Australia – we are seeing firsthand how trust is being tested. Not just by misinformation, but by something deeper: people feeling unheard, uncertain, and disconnected from decisions that affect their land, livelihoods, and communities.

The report calls this out clearly and supports the lessons we learned from Queensland’s coal seam gas experience. Through experience we understand deeply that trust and social licence can be eroded not only by misinformation and disinformation, but also by failure to genuinely acknowledge and respond to community concerns as they arise – an absolutely critical component of establishing trust.

This distinction matters because if we treat this purely as a “misinformation problem”, we risk missing the point.

You can’t fact check your way out of low trust

One of the most important insights in the report is that misinformation thrives in environments where trust is already fragile.

People don’t form views based solely on official reports or technical data. They listen to neighbours, landholders, local networks – people they trust. If those voices feel excluded or dismissed, the information ecosystem fills the gap.

We see this consistently in our work at Coexistence Queensland. In regional and rural Queensland, questions about energy and resources projects are grounded, practical, and immediate:

• What does this mean for my home, land and business?
• How will this affect my neighbours and community?
• What happens if something goes wrong?
• Who is accountable over the long term?

When those questions aren’t answered clearly, consistently, and respectfully, people don’t just disengage – they look elsewhere for answers.

Better information alone won’t fix a trust problem

The report points to a stronger role for government agencies in building trust and social licence – including clearer communication, better engagement capability, and more accessible, trusted information.

This is a step in the right direction, but effective communication isn’t just about more information – it’s about how that information is delivered.

It needs to be:

• Locally relevant – grounded in the realities of specific regions and industries
• Consistent – aligned across government, industry and stakeholders
• Accessible – practical, plain-language, and easy to navigate
• Responsive – able to engage with real concerns, not just broadcast messages

Importantly, it needs to be independent and trusted.

Trust is local – and it has to be earned

One of the more understated but significant points in the report is the role of community-led engagement – particularly organisations with established, trusted relationships in local areas.

This is where I believe there is a real opportunity. In my experience, trust is built through:

• Listening before responding
• Acknowledging complexity, not oversimplifying it
• Providing balanced, evidence-based information
• Creating space for genuine conversation – not just consultation

People don’t expect you to have all the answers right away, but they do expect honesty, transparency, and respect.

A shared responsibility

The report rightly describes misinformation and disinformation as a “wicked problem” – complex, systemic, and not easily solved.

There is no single fix. Government, industry, media, and the organisations working on the ground in communities all have a role.

If we are serious about rebuilding trust, we need to move beyond reactive responses and invest in:

• long-term relationships
• credible, independent information
• and engagement that is genuinely two-way

Where engagement is inconsistent, where expectations aren’t met, or where information changes without explanation, it reinforces scepticism. And once trust is lost, it’s difficult to rebuild.

Where to from here?

From the report and our own experience, we know one thing is clear: improving the quality of information alone is not enough because, ultimately, trust isn’t built through reports or recommendations.

It’s built through how we show up – consistently, transparently, with a willingness to listen, and a genuine desire to understand.

Coexistence Queensland is uniquely placed to play an active leadership role in brokering trusted information development, delivery and community engagement – critical elements to achieving sustainable coexistence.