Rural Australia believes in self-sufficiency, so let's set the terms of the renewable energy boom | Gabrielle Chan

The consultation and planning around the energy rollout has been lacking - so let's knock the edges off and get investment that works for our communitiesSign up for the Rural Network email newsletterJoin the Rural Network group on Facebook to be part of the communityI recently discovered the chest freezer in our shearer's huts had blown up in a lightning strike. The power had been out for two weeks. It felt like a CSI plot: I'm the woman with the torch, pushing the creaky shed door open to find a cloud of blow flies hovering around a bad smell.The little bastards had found a tiny breach in the freezer seal. I did my best rendition of Brad Pitt in Se7en - What's in the box? When I opened the lid, even the maggots had gone to fly heaven. The vestiges of splendid homegrown lamb were a grey mush at the bottom of the freezer.Sign up to receive Guardian Australia's fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter Continue reading...