Name
Sean Fletcher
Job title
CEO
Organisation
Shire of Victoria Plains, WA
Speaker biography
I serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Shire of Victoria Plains, where I am responsible for leading the organisation’s strategic direction, governance, and day-to-day operations. I work closely with our elected members, staff, and community to ensure we deliver strong outcomes for our residents and businesses.
My professional background is grounded in state energy provision and regulation, governance and regional local government, and I am passionate about strengthening rural communities through sustainable development, sound financial management, and meaningful community engagement. I believe effective local government is built on transparency, accountability, and long-term planning.
Presentation title
Energy shift facilitators: Spotlight on WA’s regional leaders driving local change
Presentation summary
Local trust and timely delivery of large-scale renewable energy infrastructure depends on place-based leadership in rural and regional WA. To date, governments and industry have underappreciated the importance of local leadership. The lack of recognition and support for these leaders, often from under-resourced sectors such as local government and not for profit, is hindering the delivery and local value created in the shift to renewables.
Leaders navigating renewables development in their regions are often powerhouses in their communities with diverse backgrounds in economic development, strategy, planning, sustainability, primary industries, community development and more. However, the sheer volume of information to digest and work to implement, on top of their business as usual, has many feeling isolated and overwhelmed. This is a dangerous place for a key stakeholder to be in.
Despite the challenges, regional leaders are creating networks, learning from each other, and continuing to show up to solve challenges and find solutions. The Regional Leader’s Summit in August 2025, the first event of its kind, brought this critical group of leaders together to learn from each other and discuss what’s working. WA was well-represented at the Summit with a strong cohort of leaders from local government, regional development plus agriculture and conservation not for profits.
Presenters in this session will articulate the structural challenges in the energy transition that create uncertainty and risk for local communities and showcase the ways they are building architecture for collaborating with government and industry.
Sean Fletcher