The truth behind Australia's energy transition: An RFI Explainer

24 Sep 2026
05:30pm - 08:00pm
FREE
Kaleide Theatre and online

To launch the Energy Futures events season presented by the RMIT Regenerative Futures Institute, we're putting energy under the microscope with our first RFI Explainer.

We're surrounded by claims about energy. Some are true. Some are spin. Most sit somewhere in between.

This live session takes big energy claims and puts them under the microscope – bringing together sharp minds from science, economics and journalism to work out what really holds up.

Hosted by Tamara DiMattina, founder of Buy Nothing New Month and multi awarded The New Joneses, expect straight talk, a few surprises, and a clearer view of the state of energy in Australia.

Come with your assumptions, have them rattled and then stick around for refreshments as we launch the premiere RFI Events Season. Your chance to connect with others who want to build a regenerative future.

Speakers

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Tamara DiMattina is one of Australia's most recognisable sustainability communicators, dubbed "PR for the planet" by Nine Newspapers. An RMIT public relations graduate, she founded Buy Nothing New Month and the original RU OK Day. Since, she has created The New Joneses, promoting circular, waste-free living and normalising electrification through projects like the all-electric homes on Federation Square.

Arron Wood AM is the former Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne and a winner of the Prime Minister's Environmentalist of the Year Award. He founded the award-winning Kids Teaching Kids program, which has engaged over 145,000 students since 1999. He is currently CEO of Yurringa Energy, Australia's first Indigenous-owned energy retailer, and was formerly Chief Policy and Impact Officer at the Clean Energy Council, representing over 1,000 companies driving Australia's clean energy transition.

Sam Humffray of Vestas is an accomplished civil engineer and construction leader with over two decades of experience delivering major infrastructure and renewable energy projects across Australia. He currently serves as a Development Manager / Senior Construction Leader at Vestas, the world's leading wind turbine manufacturer, where he drives the development and execution of large-scale wind farm projects in New South Wales.

Dr Petros Lappas is a Senior Lecturer in RMIT's School of Engineering, where he leads the Aerosol and Green Engines Laboratory. His research spans engine efficiency, alternative and sustainable fuels, and advanced combustion diagnostics. With a PhD from the University of British Columbia and past roles at Stanford and Natural Resources Canada, his recent work on ammonia as an engine fuel reflects a broader focus on the technologies underpinning the energy transition.

Professor Lisa Waller is Associate Dean of Communication in RMIT's School of Media and Communication, and leads the RMIT Information Integrity Hub, which champions accurate, trustworthy information through education, research and civic engagement. A journalism researcher and chief investigator on five Australian Research Council projects, her recent work centres on fact-checking, media and crime, and how a 'rural imaginary' shapes representations of regional Australia.

Dr Carol Bond is a Lecturer in Management in RMIT's School of Management and a political and social scientist focused on the energy and resources sectors. Her research examines energy policy, energy equity and distributive justice, and circular-economy opportunities, working closely with the Australian Hydrogen Council, Energy Networks Australia and the Future Fuels CRC.

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Upcoming events

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The truth behind Australia's energy transition: An RFI Explainer

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To launch the Energy Futures events season presented by the RMIT Regenerative Futures Institute, we're putting energy under the microscope with our first RFI Explainer.

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

Learn more about our commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

The truth behind Australia's energy transition: An RFI Explainer