Representatives from the MEU Northern Mining and NSW Energy District will appear at a public hearing in Muswellbrook for the Inquiry Into Nuclear Power Generation in Australia today.
District President, Robin Williams will appear before the Inquiry to tell the House Select Committee on Nuclear Energy that the timeline does not stack up for coal-fired power stations workers to transition to jobs in nuclear.
“There is an urgent need for workforce support and investment in diversifying our regional economy. However, the expert advice is that the time has passed for Australia to create an economically viable nuclear industry in the timeframe that we need.
“The majority of our coal power workforce need jobs as power stations close in the next five to 10 years. After that, they will move to new areas and industries.
Mr Williams will say that mining and energy workers do not believe that the Coalition’s policy for nuclear energy is realistic or will come to fruition.
He will also tell the Inquiry that the Coalition had three terms in government federally to develop a coherent energy policy which could have included nuclear if they believed it would be viable.
“Under the Coalition’s watch, displaced workers from five coal-fired power stations received zero support.
“The Coalition developed no plans to support workers from the five coal fired power stations around Australia that will close in the next five years and voted against the Net Zero Economy Authority established to provide that support.
“We believe this is a cynical distraction from the work that needs to happen immediately to diversify our regional energy economies for the major changes ahead.”
MEU Delegate and Power Station Operator Scott King will tell the Committee that because coal-fired power stations will scale down years before a new nuclear facility comes online, displaced workers are likely to seek other opportunities.
“The power station where I work is closing in 2027. As many of our power stations close over the next 5 to 10 years all the advanced boiler and turbine experience in the workforce will disappear as people like myself move into other jobs.
“The timelines simply don’t stack up for coal-fired power station workers. Without an immediate nuclear plant position, workers will look elsewhere and take their skills with them.”
MEU members voted unanimously in support of a motion saying that coal-power workers need job pathways far sooner than the timetable for development of nuclear power which extends into the 2040s and beyond at the MEU National Convention in October this year.
Read the MEU’s submission here.
Contact details:
Monique Blasiak (0430 515 162)
