Labor’s Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray has described the federal party leader Bill Shorten’s plan to cut emissions, which will close coal-fired power stations, as “too simplistic”.
Mr Shorten said Labor’s two-step emissions trading scheme plan, announced yesterday, has a target of reducing Australia's emissions by 45 percent by the year 2030. The policy would eventually see all of Australia’s coal-fired power plants shut down.
But Mr Murray was less than enthusiastic about his party’s plans.
“While everyone understands we have to do our bit for climate change, just attacking the coal industry I think is too simplistic,” he said.
“While Bill Shorten, like many other politicians around election time, come out and beat their chests and make grand statements, the proof will be in the pudding about where or how he intends to create jobs.”
Mr Murray said he supported cutting emissions, but not if it directly targeted the coal industry.
“Reductions of greenhouse gasses has to come from across the board.”
Mr Murray said the announcement may harm the federal Labor Party’s chances at the upcoming election.
“Certainly the federal area I am sure many West Australian coal miners will be disillusioned as saying he is just going to shut down power stations without a plan in place to say how he is going to do it and where there jobs are going to go to.
“Long-term, the Labor party is already working on a plan at a State level about Collie’s future. And the plan does include coal for many years to come.”
The Liberal Party’s federal member for O’Connor, Rick Wilson, described the plan as “crippling to the nation’s economy”. “Not only will a Labor Government commit to a policy that will drive electricity prices up over the next decade, it will do so with reckless abandon for the future of towns like Collie,” Mr Wilson said.
“I personally believe coal will play an important role in our nation’s energy supply for many years to come and I plan to stand by Collie’s coal industry.”
Yancoal General Manager Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs James Rickards said coal remains a critical element of the energy sector.
“The suggestion we are approaching a realistic end to Australia’s reliance upon coal at this time is inaccurate,” he said.
Collie Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, and Deputy Shire president, Glynn Yates has opened up about the town’s economic future.
Mr Yates said the State and Federal Governments are likely to overlook any reliance on coal power.
"I think it would be reasonable to understand that all layers of government are looking to not establish anymore coal-fired power stations, broadly speaking there is very few of them looking to do that and none of them are stating they're going to do that," he said.
"For Collie and our district, we need to understand that the reality is there is likely to be less coal-fired power stations into the future.”
Mr Yates said Collie’s coal-fired power stations, despite their longevity, determine the stability of Collie’s economic well-being.
"From Western Australia and Collie's perspective, Bluewaters A and B and Collie [Power Station] will be there for another 20 or 30 years unless unless the State Government wants to buy out that capacity. There is billions of dollars of investment there so they're likely to run those power stations for the next 20 or 30 years.
"However, Muja A, B, C, and D is old-plan which so there is a real potential, when their life cycles are finished, to not replace them with coal so as a community and a region we need to be prepared for a life beyond coal.
"Whether there is a life beyond coal - as a result of this government's policy or some other government's policy - because the resource is too expensive to get out of the ground or their is a political decision or we run out of useable coal it has always been a finite resource and we need to plan our future around long-term sustainability so coal and power are likely to play a lesser role than they currently do."
