Federal Member for Capricornia, Michelle Landry, has called out Labor’s plans to continue their push to cut coal mining jobs following the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman’s statement their Net-zero Transition Authority will work towards closing coal-fired power stations and their dependent suppliers.
The Assistant Minister’s comments have come off the back of the Labor Government’s announcement of a $1 billion investment into manufacturing of solar panels.
Ms Landry said the Labor Government continues to demonise the coal industry, despite the cold, hard facts that the coal mining industry is crucial to their push for their absurd 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030 targets.
“It takes 220 tonnes of coal to produce just one turbine. When you do the maths, at the Clarke Creek Wind Factory of 194 turbines, it will take 42,680 tonnes of coal for just that project. In manufacturing, the need for reliable baseload power for the production of these turbines is critical and it just cannot be done through unreliable wind and solar energy. Shutting down our coal-fired power stations and gas-fired generators will put the nail in the coffin for Australian manufacturers.
“This government is actively working to take away jobs in Capricornia’s coal fields in their rush to renewables. They must not remember what happened during the 2019 election when Capricornia was told by The Greens that coal mining was bad.
Prime Minister Albanese was in the Hunter today announcing their new manufacturing plan and was quoted as saying their announcement of investing $1 billion into solar manufacturing is a ‘sneak peak’ into their plans.
“The Prime Minister’s latest comments that there are more jobs in solar than in coal is outrageous. Collinsville Solar Farm, which completed construction in 2022, had 120 people employed during construction. However, those numbers contracted enormously to only two fulltime employees following completion.
“Today’s so-called ‘sneak peak’ into their manufacturing plans should give our mining communities cause to be concerned. Make no mistake, this government does not want to see our mining community’s flourish. Under an Albanese government, you will see more job loss, higher household power bills and our beautiful land blanketed in wind and solar farms,” Ms Landry said.
