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Thousands gathered across the region yesterday to pay their respects on ANZAC Day. A still morning greeted those attending the Traralgon Dawn Service.
Loud and clear
By ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC
LATROBE Valley workers have backed the need for a federal Energy Transition Authority. Meeting at the Gippsland Trades and Labour Council (GTLC) building last Thursday in Morwell, local workers and their unions urged the federal government to support a National Energy Transition Authority (NETA). The federal statutory authority would oversee the orderly closure of power stations, industry diversification in regions like the Latrobe Valley, and support the transition of employees. At the meeting, the GTLC confirmed that “the GTLC unanimously supports the need for a National Energy Transition Authority and has been actively working with the Victorian state government via the Latrobe Valley Authority around transition but
understand their limitations when it comes to issues at a federal level”. GTLC secretary, Steve Dodd, said the Latrobe Valley was a real example of a community dealing with power plant closures without backup plans. “We are still feeling the effects of Hazelwood’s closure in 2017, with just five months’ notice,” Mr Dodd said. “Coal power and coal mining have been the economic lifeblood of this region. We have powered the state and nation for a century but with the timeline for closure for our remaining power stations accelerating - we need federal co-ordination and support.” With the Yallourn power station to close in 2028 and the early closure of Loy Yang A in 2035, the unions’ call for a transition authority grows louder. The authority envisioned by the unions would have three main functions: Create programs to assist affected
Darren Chester
workers, such as reassignment to similar facilities or retraining and recruiting into sustainable sectors; Assist, organise, and partially finance initiatives to establish alternative businesses in coaldependent regions such as the Latrobe Valley, and; Make certain that education and training programs, as well as infrastructure, are in place to encourage industrial diversification in these areas. Last month, a delegation of all different unions went to Canberra to discuss the need for a NETA. In a speech at the National Press Club, Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) president Michele O’Neil said a national energy transition authority was the key component to the national climate and energy policy, and it must be included in the May budget.
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“An independent, statutory national energy transition authority will ensure the shift to renewable energy happens with workers, not to workers, and delivers good jobs and economic opportunity,” She said. “We do not have to choose between climate action and jobs - it’s our responsibility to act on both.” Mark Richards, Victorian secretary for the mining and energy union and assistant secretary for GTLC, is pushing for a national energy transition authority for economic security in the Valley. “What we’re looking for is a pathway for the future to make sure communities like Latrobe Valley and the Hunter Valley aren’t left behind and become ghost towns,” he said.
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