The Greens say coal workers and communities deserve a National Energy Transition Authority in Tuesday’s budget in the wake of Queensland and Victoria announcing plans to bring forward the closure of coal-fired power plants.

Greens spokesperson on Industry, Transition and Regional Development Senator Penny Allman-Payne says the workers and community members she recently met with in the Latrobe Valley, Hunter region and her own hometown of Gladstone were unanimous in their support for the urgent establishment of a National Energy Transition Authority.

AGL’s announcement today that it will be shutting the Loy Yang A power station in the Latrobe Valley nearly a decade earlier than planned adds to the growing pressure on the government to establish a National Energy Transition Authority, the Greens say.

The Greens have called on Labor to support its bill to establish a National Energy Transition Authority, which was introduced in the Senate today by Gladstone-based Queensland Senator Penny Allman-Payne.

The National Energy Transition Authority Bill 2022 establishes a new independent public authority to guide Australia’s shift from an economy powered by polluting coal and gas to one powered by reliable, secure and low-cost renewable energy.

Speech to the Smart Energy Expo in Brisbane

Thank you very much. I want to acknowledge the Turrbal and Yuggera Peoples, the traditional custodians of the lands we are meeting on here today, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded. 

I’m delighted to be here with so many passionate people working to transform Australia’s energy system. I want to thank the Smart Energy Council for organising such an important and impressive expo, and for their continued advocacy.

The Greens Industry, Transition and Regional Development spokesperson and Gladstone local, Senator Penny Allman-Payne, will give notice of a Bill to establish a National Energy Transition Authority in the next sitting of Parliament.

The announcement comes after climate bill negotiations between the Greens and government, during which the government undertook to consider the Greens’ proposal for a statutory transition authority to support coal and gas communities and give them control over their futures as Australia tackles the climate crisis. 

Thank you, President. I begin this evening by acknowledging that we are meeting on the sovereign and unceded lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples. I also wish to acknowledge the Bailai, Gurang, Gooreng Gooreng and Taribelang Bunda peoples, who are the traditional custodians of the land on which I live and work in Central Queensland.

The Greens have pledged $1.14 billion in extra federal funding for WA chronically underfunded hospitals.

This investment would be funded by repairing the broken ‘resource super profits tax’ (the PRRT), forcing big corporations to pay royalties on the gas they currently access for free.

The Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT), introduced in 1987, is meant to ensure that the public gets a fair share of the unearned revenue (rent) enjoyed by companies by virtue of having exclusive access to Commonwealth resources. 

Greens Senate Candidate for South Australia, Emeritus Professor Barbara Pocock, has joined Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young today to announce the Greens would invest $200 million to kickstart Whyalla’s green steel industry. The commitment is part of a national CEFC-like Green Metals bank to finance a new green metals industry across Australia, a vital component of the Greens’ plan to transition away from coal and gas and build things in Australia instead of shipping raw materials overseas.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP and QLD Greens Senate candidate Penny Allman-Payne have announced the latest Greens policy to support jobs and development in coal regions as coal is phased out in the coming decades. 

The Greens are announcing their plan to create Green Metals Australia in Townsville today, driving $5.9 billion of investment and coordinating strategic development of the critical minerals and green metals processing and manufacturing industries. 

I rise to speak on the Select Committee on Job Security's second interim report, on insecurity in publicly funded jobs. The Greens welcome the tabling of this interim report, and generally we concur with the recommendations as well. During this inquiry, we have engaged with witnesses from a huge range of industries, organisations and parts of our community. I too thank the members of the committee, but especially the committee secretariat, without whose excellent work we would never be able to produce such insightful reports.