The Australian Greens will offer a ten-year jobs guarantee for coal workers under an ambitious $19 billion election commitment, which it says will ease Australia’s transition from fossil fuels to cleaner industries.
The Greens’ plan, unveiled on Friday, would provide a wage subsidy for coal workers moving into new sectors – as much as half their current wages – along with a commitment of $2.8 billion in funding to support businesses create and grow new low emissions industries.
“Employers outside of the coal, oil and gas sector would be eligible for a wage subsidy equal to 50 per cent of a full time worker in the coal mining sector,” the plan says.
“The employee must receive a wage at least equal to the amount they received in their previous coal job for the employer to be eligible for the wage subsidy.”
“The guarantee would operate for ten years from leaving employment, but for workers over 55, it would be available for up to 12 years, until they reach retirement age.”
Announcing the plan from Newcastle, Greens leader Adam Bandt said there was a growing urgency for governments to put in place plans to support coal workers following events like Origin Energy’s plans to accelerate the closure of the Eraring Power Station.
“Change is happening quickly but there’s no plan for coal workers,” Bandt said.
“Governments are leaving coal workers exposed. With coal closures being brought forward and our coal customers moving to zero emissions, Australia is sleepwalking into the closure of the coal industry, but every single worker is being told by the Liberal and Labor parties that they have nothing to worry about.”
“Liberal and Labor are lying to workers and communities, saying coal can keep going for decades when science says it clearly can’t,” Bandt added.
The Greens say the total package, worth $19 billion, has been formally costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office and would be funded by the abolition of several government fossil fuel subsidies.
By winding back a range of subsidies for fossil fuel use, such as the fuel tax credit for diesel vehicles and concessions provided to companies under the petroleum resources rent tax, the Greens believe as much as $98 billion could be raised over the next decade, more than covering the cost of the jobs guarantee.
The plan includes the creation of a $2.8 billion Diversifying Coal Communities Fund that would be used to support new businesses and industries to start up in coal regions.
Plans for economic transition will be driven by at least five regional authorities, covering the Latrobe Valley, the Hunter Region, Collie in Western Australia, and the Bowen Basin and Gladstone regions of Queensland.
The Greens would also amend the investment mandates of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility and Export Finance Australia to prioritise the investments identified by the five authorities.
The plan follows an earlier policy commitment announced by the Greens to use the federal government-owned Snowy Hydro to make significant investments – up to $40 billion – in new wind, solar and storage projects.
The Greens support the phase-out of thermal coal use in Australia by 2030, with metallurgical coal also phased out by 2040, as part of its overarching plan to reach zero or net negative greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 or sooner.
Bandt said the Greens’ plan supported ongoing jobs in Australia’s mining sector, saying that many current coal workers could transition into the extraction and processing of high-value materials used in the production of low emissions technologies like electric vehicles, batteries and renewable energy technologies.
“In many places around the country, the best job for a coal worker is another mining job, and the Greens’ plan will help make that a reality. There are enormous opportunities in developing critical minerals and green metal processing,” Bandt said.
“Australia doesn’t need to shut down the mining industry, we’ve just got to get out of coal.”
The Greens will be hoping to use an increased presence and a potential balance-of-power position to enter into negotiations with the major parties over climate policies.
The last time the Greens held the balance of power in federal parliament – during the Gillard Labor government – the Greens were able to negotiate the creation of a carbon price, along with clean energy finding bodies ARENA and the CEFC.
