Coal nostalgia continues as Latrobe Valley looks to future beyond power generation

David Roberts remembers what it was like to live in the Latrobe Valley during the heyday of coal mining.

He remembers his mother talking about vibrant towns with thriving shops and schools that educated multiple generations of the same family.

Local sports teams were rites of passage. Work could easily be found in the mines and power plants scattered throughout the valley.

But as Victoria’s coal industry declined, he said residents began shopping in other towns and young people went elsewhere to work.

It was a sign of decline.

Mr Roberts now helps run the Old Colliery Museum in North Yallourn, which overlooks Yallourn Power Station, and is president of the town’s historical society.

The museum is a monument to the energy heritage and history of the region, filled with photographs of people long gone and artifacts from the area’s coal mines.

This is a testament to how coal contributed to the development of the Latrobe Valley.

This year marks a century since Yallourn coal was first used to supply Melbourne, and in Victoria’s coal country there is still nostalgia for the good old days.

The Changing Age of Power

The energy industry was the backbone of the Latrobe Valley’s economy until restructuring began in the late 1980s, followed by privatization in the 1990s.

A 2001 Monash University report found that approximately 7,200 jobs were lost between 1989 and 2001.

Hazelwood power station closed in 2017, resulting in the direct loss of 750 jobs, and Yallourn power station is scheduled to close in 2028.

Despite the huge changes, there is still support across the region for the continued use of coal and great pride in its role as Victoria’s powerhouse.

Need for new industries

Mark Richards is a former Hazelwood worker who is now Victorian District Secretary for the Mining and Energy Alliance.

Mr Richards is focused on creating jobs and ensuring there are enough jobs for those who will lose their jobs when coal plants close.

He previously worked for the State Electricity Commission (SEC) and remembers that it is a giant recruiting company, with the organization training hundreds of apprentices every year.

When Hazelwood closed, there was a plan to move workers to new jobs.

Mr Richards believes it did not create the jobs needed and as a result the social fabric of the city fell apart.

“I saw the town of Morwell go from a bustling town to a ghost town (after Hazelwood closed). The city is destroyed. I’m sick and tired of everyone packing up and leaving.”

He believes that with the right planning, the region can come back.

“We need jobs. It’s simple and clear,” he said.

Mr Richards said successive governments had failed to create new industries in the Latrobe Valley.

He hopes the federal government’s Net Zero Authority will do more, but said the minister should allow the valley to use the coal still in the ground to access new industries such as hydrogen production.

He believes coal-to-hydrogen projects offer the right amount of jobs – long-term, skilled and needed. And use the resources already available in the Latrobe Valley.

“We’re not done with coal. We are done with high-emitting projects,” Mr Richards said.

But the Climate Council disagrees.

“Coal-related industries will only delay the abundance of jobs and economic opportunities as Australia cuts climate pollution,” energy expert Greg Bourne said.

“Technologies that rely heavily on carbon capture and storage will never be a zero-emission solution, especially where they involve highly polluting coal and gas projects.”

Mr Bourne added that future jobs in the Latrobe Valley will come from clean sources and the Gippsland region is well positioned to take advantage of clean manufacturing, green hydrogen and offshore wind.

Reason for optimism

Earthworker Energy Manufacturing Co-operative is one such business committed to a new energy future in the Latrobe Valley.

It is a worker-run factory in Morwell that produces renewable energy technologies such as solar systems and heat pump hot water systems.

Earthworker member Dan Musil said the co-op prided itself on providing jobs in renewable energy to local people.

“Now that we have been operating and producing at the plant for several years, we have tremendous local support. People like to know that renewable energy technology is being made in the valley,” he said.

Earthworker was created in response to the dual challenges of climate change and the need for alternative energy sources, as well as the reality of the need for new, diverse industries in the Latrobe Valley.

“We are trying to get ahead of the situation and make sure that the new livelihoods we need are already created,” Mr Musil said.

He sees a positive future for the Latrobe Valley through the production of renewable energy, as well as the production of the technologies needed to distribute it.

He believes it is time for the Latrobe Valley to diversify into new industries, redistributing the skills learned in the coal industry to manage the energy transition.

“We need to think about all of the valley’s strengths, recognize them and diversify the valley’s economic base, because any region that is too reliant on any one sector will always be vulnerable to change.

“Being too tied to finding uses for coal actually diverts attention, resources and energy from other, more realistic opportunities.”