Helensburgh & District News
March 2007 - Vol.17 No.2

Coal debate hots up

By David Roche

A local MP has rejected calls by the Australian Greens to end Australia’s coal exports.

“The NSW coal industry is an important part of the State and regional economies,” said Labor MP and member for the state seat of Heathcote, Paul Macleay.

Coal is seen as one of the major culprits of climate change and accounts for over 40% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, largely through the generation of electricity.

With community concern about climate change hotting up, Greens Senator Bob Brown last month called on the major parties to end coal exports by 2010.

“The tobacco industry is being phased out because its fumes wreck people’s health, and the coal industry must be phased out because its fumes are wrecking the planet’s health,” said Senator Brown. “Those nations which embrace energy efficiency and renewable energy this century will boom. Those which stay locked into coal and oil will be paralysed.”

Senator Brown’s comments have been denounced by Mr Macleay.

“Coal is the State’s single largest export commodity, worth about $6.7 billion in 2005–06,” he said. “[Helensburgh’s] Metropolitan Colliery employs approximately 220 people and in 2004–05 produced 1.53 million tonnes of saleable coal, which was worth in excess of $2 million in royalty payments to the State.”

Although Liberal candidate for Heathcote, Lee Evans, was unavailable for comment, the Prime Minister and other Liberal representatives have adopted a similar line to Mr Macleay on the issue, supporting development of ‘clean coal’ technologies that capture carbon dioxide emissions and store them underground.

But clean coal technology is at least a decade away, according to Senator Brown, and would do nothing to clean up Australia’s existing 35 coal-fired power stations, adding, “proponents of clean coal, such as the prime minister, never talk about the jobs it will destroy.”

Jill Merrin, Greens candidate for Heathcote, claimed that under a planned transition from coal to renewables, the Illawarra could host “10,000 additional jobs over the next 10 years.”

“But we need a government with vision and commitment to make the investment in renewable energy manufacturing industries in our region,” she added.

Mr Macleay remains unconvinced. “For local Greens to support this outrageous suggestion is offensive to most of our local residents and workers,” he said. “We should be forcing the coal companies to clean up their acts, not shutting them down.”