On February 17th 2022, Origin Energy announced the early closure of its Eraring coal-fired power plant, Australia’s largest power station. The plant will now close by 2025, owing to traditional coal power unable to compete with green energy as the latter becomes increasingly affordable. Some media outlets have called this announcement to result in ‘a train wreck’ for lack of advance planning. Eraring’s closure is a gentle reminder of the inevitability of coal’s decline in Australia’s power sector. Other state and territory governments have since announced various coal-fired power station closures over the next decade.
Past experiences show that failure to map and manage the impacts of rapid industrial shutdowns on local communities and economies can have devastating consequences. A useful example is the closure of South Australia’s automotive industry, that closed permanently in 2017. In light of strong similarities between the two industries – a certain demographic, localised impacts and a sense of pride running across generations – it is worth exploring the process and outcomes of the auto sector’s system-wide transition to draw relevant lessons, including both successes and failures.
This was the primary subject of a research project recently completed at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining at UQ. This presentation will discuss findings based on first-hand information collected through focus group discussions and expert interviews with those involved in the automotive closure process. It will draw on the automotive industry’s experiences to inform policy and practice for governments and communities that will potentially face significant socio-economic impacts as a result of coal-fired power station closures across Australia.