Seventy workers from coal fired power stations and domestic thermal coal mines are meeting in Sydney this Thursday and Friday to discuss impacts of the energy transition on workers and urge the Federal Government to provide urgent co-ordinated support.
Mining and Energy Union General President Tony Maher addressed the meeting this morning, saying the absence of a coherent energy or emissions-reduction policy under the previous government didn’t stop the world changing.
“We have known the trajectory of coal power for some time, but now we are seeing the timeline for power station closures rapidly shortening.”
Last year Western Australia announced plans to close its coal-fired power stations by 2030, which was followed by Queensland announcing its coal-fired power stations will not run beyond 2035.
Privately owned power stations have also been given dates for closure. Origin announced Eraring in NSW would close in 2025, seven years earlier than previously scheduled and AGL brought forward the closure of Loy Yang A in Victoria to 2035, 10 years earlier than previously scheduled. There is also the impending closure of AGL’s Liddell Power Station in the Hunter Valley scheduled for 28 April.
Mr Maher said while the new government has set about creating the architecture to reduce emissions and support industry through the profound economic restructuring underway, there is a critical element missing.
“That is – support for the workers who are most imminently and profoundly affected by decarbonisation.”
The Federal Government as well as every State and Territory Government have committed to net zero emissions by 2050, while the Federal Government has legislated the target for a 43 per cent reduction compared with 2005 levels by 2030. New South Wales has taken this one step further by setting targets of 50 per cent reduction by 2030 and 70 per cent by 2035.
Mr Maher said an important element of the government’s emissions-reduction plan is a ramped-up Safeguard Mechanism, requiring 215 of Australia’s highest polluting industrial facilities to reduce their on-site emissions by almost 5 per cent per year.
“Given that 59 of the facilities covered by the safeguard mechanism are coal mines, our Union is actively advocating for their interests in this process.
“We want to make sure coal mines have access to the same flexibilities in how they reduce emissions as other industries, including access to credits, recognising that some changes and technologies will take time to implement.”
Mr Maher said the Federal Government should urgently establish a federal Energy Transition Authority.
“Given the speed at which coal fire power stations are now accelerating toward closure the Federal Government has to establish an Energy Transition Authority this year or it will probably be too late,” he said.
“If Australia doesn’t get an Energy Transition Authority established in time it would be a moral failure, because it’s wrong to expect blue collar workers to bear the brunt of the nation’s climate change action when the costs could easily be shared.”
Peter Compton, an operator at Mount Piper Power Station near Lithgow, said workers had a front seat view of the immense changes facing the industry, but their interests were not being taken into account in government planning.
“Coal-fired power station closures are going to have an enormous impact on the grid and need to be planned for. Closures are also going to have an enormous impact on our lives and communities and these outcomes need to planned for too,” he said.
“I support the call for a federal Energy Transition Authority; and I’m looking forward to talking with other energy workers from around Australia about how we navigate all the changes ahead.”
The two-day meeting brings together delegates from 25 facilities from Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.
Read the full speech here.
