Mercury (Hobart)

Coal families fear ‘zero’ future

MINING UNIONS ARE SICK OF THEIR WORKERS BEING USED AS ‘POLITICAL FOOTBALLS’

- Matthew Killoran

For the almost 50,000 workers directly employed in coalmining, and another 8000 in coal-fired energy, “net zero” sounds like “restructur­ing”, job losses and a future for their children and their communitie­s disappeari­ng.

While new jobs in renewables are often spruiked – and dismissed as temporary and lower-paid – some experts are now pointing to critical minerals, processing ores and manufactur­ing as to where opportunit­ies will be for work which will keep these regions alive.

But they say that for it to work, government and industry need to start planning now.

Coal exports brought Australia $43 billion in 2020, and more than $60 billion the year before.

CFMEU national mining and energy boss Tony Maher said much of the coal industry was booming, with workers just wanting to get on with their jobs and “sick of being used as political footballs”.

“They are sick of being told that their communitie­s alone have to pay the price for addressing climate change,” Mr Maher said.

There are about 26,400 coalmining workers in Queensland, from the Darling Downs to

Moranbah, the Bowen Basin, as well as the Bravus mine in the Galilee Basin. There are another 18,800 in NSW predominan­tly in the Hunter region, including at the Mt Arthur thermal coalmine, Kepco’s Bylong thermal mine and others.

Brown coal is mined in Victoria’s Gippsland region, including at Loy Yang and Yallourn.

Mr Maher said there were different stories for the coalmining and energy sectors, with the domestic coal power sector already in decline.

He said an independen­t authority needed to be set up to support workers and communitie­s affected by transition in finding new jobs, and to co-ordinate power station closures when they are inevitable.

But metallurgi­cal coal is likely to remain strong for some time, Mr Maher said, due to the lack of viable alternativ­e technology for making steel. “With thermal coal, our customers will make their own decisions on energy and emissions, and many of our trading partners have committed to net zero,” he said.

Mr Maher warned there was little evidence that renewables industries were providing ongoing, well-paid jobs, with the work often short-term constructi­on or installati­on.

“The pay is lower than mining and the industry has shown they’re happy to fill roles with backpacker­s if they can get away with it,” he said.

“We need to invest in high-valueadded export industries to create the skilled, well-paid blue-collar jobs of the future for regional areas.”

The Australian Energy Market Operator has identified areas where there is overlap between mining regions and renewable energy zones, where investment in solar and wind projects is expected.

There is overlap in Isaac and Darling Downs in Queensland, and some in the NSW central west around Lithgow, but little to no crossover in Victoria.

University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Sustainabl­e Futures research director, Chris Briggs, said there were likely to be three main categories of alternativ­e jobs for coalmine and power workers, renewable energy, mining critical minerals used in green and smart technology as well as processing and manufactur­ing flowing from those metals.

He said about two-thirds of the jobs in coalmining would be transferab­le to the renewables sector with some training, such as constructi­on and project managers, mechanical trades and engineerin­g.

Dr Briggs said the remaining third in drilling and machine operating roles would need to seek other roles, which is where the critical minerals came in. “We’re the only country in the world that has all the minerals needed to create batteries.

“You can process the minerals here to be battery grade, we can be competitiv­e in manufactur­ing the battery packs and possibly in the battery cells. There’s a real opportunit­y to create a competitiv­e advantage,” he said.

There are cobalt and nickel mine facilities in NSW looking at investing in minerals processing and similar investigat­ions in lithium deposits in Queensland, as well an enormous potential in developing the hydrogen industry, where Gladstone is

expected to become a major hub, he said.

But Dr Briggs said the federal Government would need to work with industry and TAFE on detailed skills mapping to understand how to start transferri­ng the roles and provide training for the transition, and even relocation assistance.

The timing of any transition remains uncertain. “History shows it starts slowly, slowly, slowly, and then it’s really fast,” Dr Briggs said.

Some mining giants such BHP have already announced plans to get out of thermal coal, used for power generation, with the multinatio­nal halfway through a two-year exit plan.

But it is planning increased investment in iron ore and metallurgi­cal coal in the short to medium term, with longer-term plans to grow investment in nickel and copper, needed as part of the shift to decarbonis­ation and electrific­ation.

BHP Minerals Australia president Edgar Basto said there would be demand for its products driven by the changing economy.

“Action on climate change and the transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions will create jobs and support businesses, especially in regional areas, and help create a stronger Australia,” he said.

“Our scenario analysis indicates BHP will do well in a decarbonis­ing world because the growing global commitment and action to tackle climate change would drive increasing demand for many of the commoditie­s we produce.”

 ?? ??
 ?? ?? coal mining jobs nationally. Including 18,800 in NSW, 26,400 in Qld, 200 in SA, 3400 in WA and 100 in the NT. 8000 in coal-fired energy.
coal mining jobs nationally. Including 18,800 in NSW, 26,400 in Qld, 200 in SA, 3400 in WA and 100 in the NT. 8000 in coal-fired energy.
 ?? ?? Bravus’ Carmichael Mine site, about 160km northwest of Clermont in Queensland’s North Galilee Basin.
Bravus’ Carmichael Mine site, about 160km northwest of Clermont in Queensland’s North Galilee Basin.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Australia