Hazelwood power station closure: Morwell sets itself for tough times ahead

HUNDREDS of workers will be out of work when the smoke stops trailing from Hazelwood power station’s eight stacks next year. But they aren’t the only ones affected.

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• Electricity prices in Victoria tipped to jump in 2017 with Hazelwood closure

BRUCE McLure will miss the steam generators that hum across the paddocks from the Hazelwood power station.

Next March, when the smoke stops trailing from the eight stacks, McLure will do his last shift as a coal and ash operator after 41 years. His brothers, Robert and Allan worked here. So does his son, Paul, who is 32.

That’s who he frets for, the young ones who might not find work. Blokes like Ron, the third-generation “Valley” miner who on Thursday contemplated the once unthinkable — a move interstate. And Justin, who likewise sat in Morwell’s Central Bar over a pot, and wondered about life far away from his two children.

Everyone was brave enough when they received the news midmorning on Thursday. With less than an hour’s notice, hundreds of Hazelwood Power Station workers were confronted by great ­tables and piles of thick ­envelopes.

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JOSH FRYDENBERG: WE’LL FOCUS ON THREE KEY AREAS

ELECTRICITY PRICES TIPPED TO JUMP IN 2017 WITH CLOSURE OF HAZELWOOD

McLure admired the camaraderie that spilled into the afternoon, when some workers were overheard to ponder the future of the station’s barramundi breeding program, which began in the site’s ponds about six months ago.

He suspected the show of good cheer dimmed when they saw their loved ones.

“When you’re around your mates, you can joke about things,” he said. “When you get home and explain to your family, that’s when ­reality sets in.”

Some of the 750 were described as “terrible messes”. Particular sympathy was ­reserved for one worker, said to be the father of a four-year-old and triplets.

Much was made of the special skill set of power station workers. They earn more than average workers, especially in regional parts — maybe $100,000 to $200,000 a year.

But power station operational worker skills are very specific. They do not translate into other trades.

Plant operator Ron was “in shock” on Thursday. Rumours of a partial shutdown had circulated for years, but the wider consensus ­locally was that Hazelwood — so long a fixture — would ­endure in some way.

“The real estate agent last week was adamant that it wouldn’t close,” he said. On Wednesday, Ron chatted with another business owner.

“ ‘I hope the business doesn’t shut because if it does I’m screwed’, the guy said.

“I’ll be having lots of conversations like that.”

Ron, like other workers, was mindful of company edicts against speaking openly to the media, lest it affect severance payouts thought to rise as high as two years’ wages. Others were better placed.

Speaking in Morwell’s Rose Garden, Premier Dan Andrews cited estimates of 4 per cent power bill increases while others predicted rises of up to 25 per cent.

Some locals ignored Andrews’ explanations and feared a future of brownouts caused by energy supply issues.

More importantly, they wondered about flow-on effects. Many businesses, from contractors and suppliers, rely heavily on Hazelwood.

Trevor Williams, of the CFMEU, believed the resulting downturn, which wouldn’t be felt for some time, would strike the wider region, including Traralgon.

He described yesterday as “the biggest closure” in the Latrobe Valley’s history, given today’s shrinkage of the industry. It stood to hit cafes, car dealers and travel businesses.

Sue Nash, whose partner runs a trucking business, stopped in Ray Burgess’s newsagent in the main street of Morwell. “It’s $140,000 of trucking business this year that we won’t have next year,” she said.

The greatest fear appeared to be the loss of people in search of work, and the decline of resulting trade.

“Four shops are vacant in the main street right now,” Nash said. “I want to know how many are vacant in 12 months’ time.”

Hazelwood power station’s eight stacks will stop billowing smoke next March. Picture: Paul Crock/AFP

Burgess added: “One of the hardest things we have to deal with is morale”.

He was made redundant during the SEC privatisation in the 1990s. He saw some friends invest wisely with their packages — others bought boats. He bought his newsagency, which now stands to suffer from the community’s smaller discretionary spend.

McLure, at 67, likes golf. Come April, he said, he’d have plenty of opportunities to work on his game.

Hundreds of others, however, did not begin to know how they would fill their time.

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DRIVE IS ON TO SAVE OUR LATROBE VALLEY

‘ANOTHER KICK IN THE GUTS FOR THE VALLEY’

MATT JOHNSTON: HAZELWOOD FALLOUT A WORRY FOR ALCOA

JOSH FRYDENBERG: WE’LL FOCUS ON THREE KEY AREAS

ELECTRICITY PRICES TIPPED TO JUMP IN 2017 WITH CLOSURE OF HAZELWOOD