Problem

In November 2016, ENGIE, the French energy company, announced that in five months, it would close the coal-fired Hazelwood Power Station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, as part of ENGIE's green restructuring strategy.

As Australia's oldest and most carbon-intensive power plant, the 1.6GW power plant was a source of livelihood for 750 people. Only about 250 would stay on to manage plant decommissioning and mine rehabilitation, bringing the net jobs lost to approximately 500. When the closure was announced, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) called on the Federal Government to develop and fund a plan for a just transition in the energy sector.

Responses

On the same day ENGIE publicly announced the closure, the Federal and State Governments announced support packages reaching a total of $237 million, with additional redundancy payments and funding for other infrastructure-related programs. Though important for the region’s longer-term economic transition, CFMEU criticised these plans for lacking near-term, concrete steps to minimise job losses.

In response, the Government of Victoria appointed a special negotiator and initiated a social dialogue among the power station companies, the union, and Government to manage redeployment through the Latrobe Valley Worker Transfer Partnership Scheme - the first-ever attempt in the region to coordinate among multiple private companies to manage redeployment and reduce job losses. The scheme included partnership deals between companies, aiming to minimise job losses through retraining and early retirement mechanisms. As of 2019, the Latrobe Valley Authority estimated that up to 74% of former Hazelwood workers were re-employed or retired.

Find out more: World Resources Institute