Article by LACHLAN LEEMING, courtesy of The Australian
04.12.2025
The NSW government agency created to give “independent” advice on lowering emissions has been accused of being stacked with climate activists and members with deep links to businesses in the green energy space, ahead of a grilling in state estimates.
The agency’s chair, Nicholas Rowley, will appear in the NSW parliament on Thursday. Some MPs and industry groups have signalled concerns over how much taxpayer funding the body receives and its independence.
The commission’s executive director, Will Rayward-Smith, as recently as November said “the planning system is a powerful lever for climate action” in social media posts. The former Deloitte partner, who advised firms on energy and climate moves, also previously posted pictures of himself participating in activist movements including a climate strike held in Sydney in 2019. “Great to be part of today’s #ClimateStrike in Sydney,” he posted on social media that day.
Other members of the commission – who are appointed to five-year terms – have long working histories in renewable and clean energy investment.
Commissioner Meg McDonald is chair of Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy (TRaCE), a clean energy investment vehicle, as well as previously holding roles as chief operating officer at the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and as CEO of Low Carbon Australia.
Fellow commissioner Maria Atkinson also currently holds a role as a venture partner at Nirman Ventures, a San Francisco–based venture capital firm investing in “clean technology innovation”.
The role of senior figures at the commission has raised the ire of the mining industry, which has also queried how much taxpayer funding the agency receives. The commission’s annual report from its first year doesn’t feature a financials section, while there was no specific mention of funding for the commission in the NSW budget.
Coal Australia CEO Stuart Bocking said the commission’s membership raised “serious questions” about why taxpayers are being forced to fund it.
NSW Libertarian Party MP John Ruddick, who will grill Mr Rowley on Thursday, said the body should be abolished and “replaced with nothing”. He claimed the commission was “hellbent on killing” NSW’s biggest export – coal – which was valued at more than $33bn in 2023–24.
Mr Rowley told The Australian details on the body’s funding would be published before the end of the year.
“The Net Zero Commission is an independent statutory body that monitors the state’s progress on emissions reduction and climate adaptation,” he said. “We undertake evidence-based work and provide advice to the NSW government. Policy decisions on the basis of our advice rest with the government.”