Job losses at Premier Coal the inevitable outcome of coal generation closure

The Shadow Minister for Energy Dr Steve Thomas says the announcement of job losses at Premier Coal is just the first of many as the State exits coal fired generation.

“I would like to express my sympathy and support for the coal miners in Collie that will soon find themselves unemployed, and for their families who rely on them” Dr Thomas said.

“Only the timing of this action came as a surprise, because these and further job losses have been inevitable since the 2022 Government announcement of the closure of coal generation.

“At the moment there are significant stockpiles of coal at the Premier mine site and at the Muja and Collie power stations, but coal fired generation has declined as we come off summer peaks of demand.

“The impending closure of the Collie A power station, our largest coal generator due to close next September, means that demand for coal will continue to decline rapidly.

“This has increased the pressure on Premier Coal to reduce the size of their operation, which I understand has something like 400,000 tonnes of coal sitting on the ground.

Dr Thomas said the crisis represented twenty years of failure to manage the coalfields effectively.

He also pointed to the paradox of job losses at Premier Coal at the same time Griffin Coal is receiving Government handouts to subsidise its losses.

“Western Australians will be shocked to learn that at the same time Premier Coal is putting off workers because they have an oversupply of coal stockpiled, the State Government is still giving taxpayers money to the State’s other coal miner Griffin to keep mining coal” Dr Thomas said.

 “The Government is subsidising the operating losses of Griffin to the tune of something like $30 million a year for the next five years to cover costs when Premier has coal sitting on top the ground ready to use.

“And in the second half of 2025 the State Government paid an additional $1.5 million to consultants for work on Griffin Coal.”