Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This is the full video of the 2026 Dr Hugh Saddler Memorial Lecture, featuring former ACT Minister, Greens Leader, and long‑serving parliamentarian Shane Rattenbury. The evening was a reflection on how the ACT turned climate ambition into action, and what its experience reveals about democracy, power, and people‑driven change.
The ACT has gone from setting bold emissions targets on paper to delivering real‑world cuts and a world‑leading renewable electricity system, becoming a national and international reference point for climate leadership. As a minister, legislator and Green leader at the heart of this story, Shane helped negotiate and implement many of the reforms that shifted the Territory’s energy system and reshaped its politics.
The Dr Hugh Saddler Memorial Lecture was an address in honour of energy transition expert and founding director of the Australia Institute, the late Dr Hugh Saddler (1943–2023). Dr Saddler profoundly influenced a generation of researchers and policymakers, and his expertise helped lay the groundwork for Australia’s renewable energy transition.
In this lecture, Shane explores the driving forces behind the ACT’s climate transformation, including what it took to become the first Australian jurisdiction to achieve a transition from a fossil fuel-based supply to 100% renewable electricity. He discusses how power‑sharing, combined with a clear community mandate, made ambitious policy both possible and durable, and why the ACT should be seen as a case study in governing the transition from ambition to action. He also offers a timely reflection on his parliamentary career and consider what lessons the ACT’s journey holds for parliaments, parties, and movements across Australia as they confront the next era of climate decisions.
The address was followed by a Q&A, facilitated by Dr Richard Denniss, co-Chief Executive Officer at The Australia Institute.
SPEAKERS:
Shane Rattenbury – Former elected member for Kurrajong and the leader of the ACT Greens
Dr Richard Denniss – co-Chief Executive Officer, The Australia Institute
This event was filmed on Monday, August 17, 2026.
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This is the full video of the 2026 Dr Hugh Saddler Memorial Lecture, featuring former ACT Minister, Greens Leader, and long‑serving parliamentarian Shane Rattenbury. The evening was a reflection on how the ACT turned climate ambition into action, and what its experience reveals about democracy, power, and people‑driven change.
The ACT has gone from setting bold emissions targets on paper to delivering real‑world cuts and a world‑leading renewable electricity system, becoming a national and international reference point for climate leadership. As a minister, legislator and Green leader at the heart of this story, Shane helped negotiate and implement many of the reforms that shifted the Territory’s energy system and reshaped its politics.
The Dr Hugh Saddler Memorial Lecture was an address in honour of energy transition expert and founding director of the Australia Institute, the late Dr Hugh Saddler (1943–2023). Dr Saddler profoundly influenced a generation of researchers and policymakers, and his expertise helped lay the groundwork for Australia’s renewable energy transition.
In this lecture, Shane explores the driving forces behind the ACT’s climate transformation, including what it took to become the first Australian jurisdiction to achieve a transition from a fossil fuel-based supply to 100% renewable electricity. He discusses how power‑sharing, combined with a clear community mandate, made ambitious policy both possible and durable, and why the ACT should be seen as a case study in governing the transition from ambition to action. He also offers a timely reflection on his parliamentary career and consider what lessons the ACT’s journey holds for parliaments, parties, and movements across Australia as they confront the next era of climate decisions.
The address was followed by a Q&A, facilitated by Dr Richard Denniss, co-Chief Executive Officer at The Australia Institute.
SPEAKERS:
Shane Rattenbury – Former elected member for Kurrajong and the leader of the ACT Greens
Dr Richard Denniss – co-Chief Executive Officer, The Australia Institute
This event was filmed on Monday, August 17, 2026.
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📧 theaus.in/newsletter_signup
Help us make more videos like this by becoming a supporter:
❤️ theaus.in/donateYT
