State government begins planning for Illawarra's post-coal future

The roundtable will inform the establishment of Future Jobs and Investment Authority, designed to smooth the transition from a carbon-based economy to a greener future, however some not in attendance have questioned whether the process is taking into account the views of the whole community.

Minister for Natural Resources Courtney Houssos and Minister for the Illawarra and South Coast Ryan Park met with over 40 stakeholders from mining companies, unions, energy producers, industry groups, manufacturers and universities.

The Illawarra event is the third roundtable in the series, with similar forums in the Hunter and Central West and one planned for the North West. The NSW government has committed $5.2 million over four years to establish local authorities in each of the coal-producing areas that will work with the federal government's Net Zero Authority.

"This roundtable is a great opportunity to consult with workers, the community and industry about how to tailor the local authorities for the Illawarra," Minister Houssos said.

"The NSW Labor Government is committed to making sure that coal-producing regions, like the Illawarra, are supported to find new opportunities."

Business Illawarra executive director Adam Zarth who attended the roundtable, said the Illawarra was unique when it came to coal producing regions of NSW, with the region primarily producing metallurgical coal for steelmaking.

"We provided some perspective to government about what industry transition looks like specifically in the Illawarra, and it's very different to what they were talking about in Lithgow or the Hunter," he said.

While Wollongong Resources recently announced the closure of the Russell Vale and Wongawilli mines, laying off hundreds of workers, the new owner of South32's Illawarra Metallurgical Coal arm has indicated their appetite for more than a decade of coal mining in the Illawarra.

Mr Zarth said the region could maintain its existing coal-based workforce, alongside the growth of opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

"The coal sector as we know it in NSW is changing," Ms Houssos said. "As part of this consultation I have heard a wide range of views from local stakeholders as to how we can best support new economic opportunities and new industries in the Illawarra region."

However Greens candidate for Wollongong City Council Deidre Stuart questioned whether a full range of views were represented.

Ms Stuart noted members of the environmental movement were not present.

"There's some great people across our society who have good ideas about how people can be upskilled."

Former coal miner Darryl Best, who now works with Orange is the new Black star Yael Stone's Hi Neighbour initiative has said the Illawarra was previously overlooked when it came to transition planning, and that this had left the region unprepared for shutdowns such as at Russell Vale.

"There's a lot of complacency, there's a lot of talk from people who hold positions of considerable weight down here that we have low unemployment, different sorts of coal, all sorts of things, all of that overlooked exactly what just happened with Russell Vale."

Ms Stuart said there needed to be similar engagement with the environmental consequences of mining, given the estimated multimillion-dollar bill to rehabilitate the Wongawilli and Russell Vale mines, if a buyer is not found.

"Let's start with cleaning up all the mess," she said.

The NSW government holds a $12 million bond with Wollongong Resources for the rehabilitation of the mines, however the company, which is indebted to the tune of $1bn to its parent company, estimated the cost of cleaning up the mine at $215m.

A spokesperson for the Department of Regional NSW said when the mine closed in February that Wollongong Resources had met its regulatory requirements.

"The Resources Regulator holds adequate security for the assessed rehabilitation cost of the Russell Vale colliery."