Some Andrews Government MPs still have ‘head in sand’: CFMEU Victorian mining division secretary

THE head of a major Labor-aligned union says some Andrews Government ministers still have their “heads in the sand” about Hazelwood power station’s closure.

Some Andrews Government ministers still have their “heads in the sand” about Hazelwood power station’s closure, says CFMEU’s state mining secretary. Picture: Paul Crock/AFP

THE head of a major Labor-aligned union says some Andrews Government ministers still have their “heads in the sand” about Hazelwood power station’s closure.

State secretary of the CFMEU’s Victorian mining division, Geoff Dyke, is pushing for new lower-emission brown coal generators to be built, or for government to invest in research so one of Victoria’s abundant resources can be used in other ways.

The union’s post-Hazelwood transition plan for the Latrobe Valley includes generous retirement packages for older workers at power generators to enable younger staff to be redeployed — a plan Mr Dyke says has some support.

State secretary of the CFMEU’s Victorian mining division, Geoff Dyke. Picture: David Geraghty

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The transition plan also argues it would be “negligent not to explore other uses for brown coal outside of electricity generation” as it could provide steady jobs and an economic return “for the next 330 years”.

The union’s stance was welcomed by business group the Australian Power Project, whose chief executive Nathan Vass said it’s “encouraging to see influential unions ... calling for investment in clean coal technologies”.

Mr Dyke said he had conversations with the State Government about the plan and the future of baseload power and energy prices, but the response “depends on what minister you talk to”.

A push for new coal generators or coal exports instead of focusing on other energy sources causes a quandary for the Andrews Government, which has set a renewable energy target in response to climate change and is still working on a new coal policy.

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg seized the news, saying Labor’s energy policies showed it was “so out of touch when it comes to the need to provide affordable and reliable energy to households and businesses it’s even at odds with the unions”.

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State Resources Minister Wade Noonan said Hazelwood’s impending closure showed “how much the coal industry is shifting, and we need to make sure we’re adapting to this change”.

“The government is finalising its coal policy which will examine alternative uses of brown coal in Victoria,” he said.

“Any proposal would need to consider a range of economic, social and environmental factors.”

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