❓ Ms. Hanns asks how the government will support Collie workers and the community during the transition from coal-fired power. The Premier outlines the government's commitment to Collie, detailing financial investments and initiatives to support the community's future.
AnsweredQoN 360Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
COAL-FIRED POWER STATIONS — CLOSURE
360. Ms J.L. HANNS to the Premier:
I
refer to the difficult decision by this government to retire Western Australia's
state-owned coal-fired power stations and
sensibly transition to a greater use of renewables. Can the Premier outline to
the house how the McGowan Labor government will support the workers and
the community of Collie through the transition to ensure that the town has a prosperous
long-term future?
360. Ms J.L. HANNS to the Premier:
I
refer to the difficult decision by this government to retire Western Australia's
state-owned coal-fired power stations and
sensibly transition to a greater use of renewables. Can the Premier outline to
the house how the McGowan Labor government will support the workers and
the community of Collie through the transition to ensure that the town has a prosperous
long-term future?
AnswerView source ↗
I firstly thank the member for
Collie–Preston for her advocacy for her community and her understanding
over the very difficult things that are being done at the moment. I thought she
performed magnificently yesterday in Collie with the people of her community.
Of course, the people of Collie—the
coalminers and the power station workers—and the associated industries
have done so much for the state of Western Australia over the past 130 years.
They have powered our state over that period of time. It is often very
difficult and hard work and, sometimes, particularly historically, very
dangerous work, but technology is changing. We now have an electricity system
that is becoming increasingly unsustainable as it currently stands. There is a massive
uptake of solar and wind renewables every single day. More and more renewable
energy is coming into the grid each and every day. That means that demand for
coal is going down, the cost of coal is going up and the sustainability of the
power stations in the way that they have to operate is becoming increasingly
difficult. If nothing is done about this, the cost for each household's
power bill will increase by at least $1 200 per household by 2030. That is
clearly not acceptable to us. That is why we made the decision to close the
Collie power station in late 2027 and to close Muja D in late 2029. We
understand that that will be difficult for the people of Collie, but it
provides certainty for the community.
We are absolutely committed to
standing by Collie and the people of that community and ensuring that the kids
who go to school there have the opportunity to stay in Collie, obtain
employment and raise a family. We owe it to Collie to do that. That is why we
have announced $662 million as part of the Collie transition package. That is
an additional $547.4 million on top of the $115 million already committed. Part
of that will be $200 million for the attraction of new and emerging industries
to the area that are particularly focused on manufacturing and the industrial
land of the area. There will be the opportunity to decommission the existing
power stations so that they do not sit there
empty, as they have in other states for years and years, which will create an
opportunity for the local workforce. Then there is at least $21 million
for the Collie Jobs and Skills Centre and the case management of people impacted. This builds on the existing
investment into Collie. We have invested around $40 million into tourism for the area—a whole range of
initiatives in Collie and its surrounds. In industry, we have established the
emergency services vehicle
manufacturing facility, WesTrac Institute's automotive autonomous
training facility, the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and
Safety's regional processing centre and the Koolinup Emergency Services
Centre. A whole range of projects are being worked on in the area in terms of
graphite, magnesium and medicinal cannabis. We expect that there will be
significant other projects and also investment in renewable energy, which will
have a real focus on the Collie area.
I am very confident that Collie has a strong and prosperous future and that this
government, for as long as it is in office,
will invest to ensure that the people in Collie can rely on it to support them
over this difficult transition period.
Visitors — Westminster
Primary School P&C
The SPEAKER : On behalf of the member for Balcatta, I would
like to acknowledge Westminster Primary School P&C. Welcome to the
Speaker's gallery today.
Collie–Preston for her advocacy for her community and her understanding
over the very difficult things that are being done at the moment. I thought she
performed magnificently yesterday in Collie with the people of her community.
Of course, the people of Collie—the
coalminers and the power station workers—and the associated industries
have done so much for the state of Western Australia over the past 130 years.
They have powered our state over that period of time. It is often very
difficult and hard work and, sometimes, particularly historically, very
dangerous work, but technology is changing. We now have an electricity system
that is becoming increasingly unsustainable as it currently stands. There is a massive
uptake of solar and wind renewables every single day. More and more renewable
energy is coming into the grid each and every day. That means that demand for
coal is going down, the cost of coal is going up and the sustainability of the
power stations in the way that they have to operate is becoming increasingly
difficult. If nothing is done about this, the cost for each household's
power bill will increase by at least $1 200 per household by 2030. That is
clearly not acceptable to us. That is why we made the decision to close the
Collie power station in late 2027 and to close Muja D in late 2029. We
understand that that will be difficult for the people of Collie, but it
provides certainty for the community.
We are absolutely committed to
standing by Collie and the people of that community and ensuring that the kids
who go to school there have the opportunity to stay in Collie, obtain
employment and raise a family. We owe it to Collie to do that. That is why we
have announced $662 million as part of the Collie transition package. That is
an additional $547.4 million on top of the $115 million already committed. Part
of that will be $200 million for the attraction of new and emerging industries
to the area that are particularly focused on manufacturing and the industrial
land of the area. There will be the opportunity to decommission the existing
power stations so that they do not sit there
empty, as they have in other states for years and years, which will create an
opportunity for the local workforce. Then there is at least $21 million
for the Collie Jobs and Skills Centre and the case management of people impacted. This builds on the existing
investment into Collie. We have invested around $40 million into tourism for the area—a whole range of
initiatives in Collie and its surrounds. In industry, we have established the
emergency services vehicle
manufacturing facility, WesTrac Institute's automotive autonomous
training facility, the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and
Safety's regional processing centre and the Koolinup Emergency Services
Centre. A whole range of projects are being worked on in the area in terms of
graphite, magnesium and medicinal cannabis. We expect that there will be
significant other projects and also investment in renewable energy, which will
have a real focus on the Collie area.
I am very confident that Collie has a strong and prosperous future and that this
government, for as long as it is in office,
will invest to ensure that the people in Collie can rely on it to support them
over this difficult transition period.
Visitors — Westminster
Primary School P&C
The SPEAKER : On behalf of the member for Balcatta, I would
like to acknowledge Westminster Primary School P&C. Welcome to the
Speaker's gallery today.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.