With the country's oldest coal-fired power station set to close down, calls have intensified for the federal government to set up a national energy transition authority and allocate funding for it in next month's budget.
The Liddell Power Station at Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley will be switched off on Friday, while the Eraring Power Station in southern Lake Macquarie is earmarked for closure in 2025.
About 100 people including workers, community members and union officials gathered at Eraring on Thursday calling for a transition authority.
"We as workers in this industry don't want to be left in the dark," assistant power plant operator Scott King said.
"We're hoping that what we get out of a national energy transition authority is a pathway forward that ensures that we have safe, meaningful jobs in our own communities."
Workers impacted by move away from coal
The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) said that in the past decade 11 coal-fired power stations have closed with an average notice period of four months, leaving workers and communities devastated.
Origin Energy initially had the Eraring Power Station slated for closure in 2032, but early last year announced that would be brought forward by seven years.
"It's a kick in the guts," Mr King said.
"By then I'll be in my mid 50s, going back to the employment heap at the bottom of that pile.
"At that age … that's a horrible time to go out to try and find a new job.
"A lot of the skills that we develop within this industry are highly specialised … it's going to be a hard process to move out of this industry and go back looking for work elsewhere."
Mr King said he knew of a lot of young workers who will be impacted.
"Look at the bunch of young guys that I work with who are all recently married, they have toddlers, they have babies in bellies," he said.
"They're building their first houses, thinking they still had another 10 years to get themselves into a safe and stable economic future.
"And all of a sudden, with massive debt and no clear-cut future we don't know where we're going, so it's hard."
A national issue
Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union Northern Region organiser Bradley Pigeon said an authority would help plan and coordinate the investment of billions of dollars to create new industries and better jobs.
"What we've learnt throughout the transition is that workers have been left behind in the process of the closure of coal-fired power stations," he said.
"We need an independent, well funded, well resourced authority to ensure that workers in the communities are not left behind during transition.
"And it doesn't just affect the Hunter … this is a national issue and a national authority is needed."
Federal member for the Hunter Dan Repacholi said an authority will be established but he's unsure when.
"This will happen. It's got to happen for this region," he said.
"When it happens, I don't know, I'm not privileged to the budget … but we will wait and see what will come out on May 9."
Mr Repacholi said the government was yet to determine how the authority will be set up and operate, but said it was vital that all stakeholders were included in the conversation.
"This is an authority that needs to be full of people with all different backgrounds, so that we don't just get a one-sided opinion," he said.
"We also need all three levels of government working together first … so that then we can put the right authority in place."
