Collie business ‘relieved’ they have a timeline for power stations closure after State Government announcement

A decision to shut all State-owned coal-fired power stations in Collie by the end of the decade has done little to extinguish the spark among small business owners in the town, who are even breathing a sigh of relief they finally have a concrete timeline. Premier Mark McGowan and Energy Minister Bill Johnston made the announcement on Tuesday, which would see about 1200 jobs lost in the coal mining town as it transitions away from the industry. And while some believe the decision would come as a shock to the Collie community — including former MLA Mick Murray who said the timeline would blindside residents — every small business The West Australian spoke to said it was time to move on and let other industries boom. Among them was father-of-two Erik Mellegers, owner of Crank’n Cycles and Toys in the CBD, who said it was a change everyone knew was coming. “It’s something we’ve known for a long time — there is a big move towards renewables, whether you agree with it or not — and it was only a matter of time,” he said. “With a lot of the new blood that’s come in, particularly in the last five years, these people can actually see what Collie has, and the opportunity that Collie has. “(People) aren’t here because they can earn $160,000 a year just like their their father and grandfather did — they’re here because Collie is an amazing place to live.” Tosca’s Boutique and Coffee owner Greta Maloney, who also sits on the Collie Chamber of Commerce and Industry executive board, said the announcement had not come as a surprise to her at all. “The closure of the power stations has been known for a long time, it’s not new news — it was going to always happen,” she said. “However, now we have a date. So it gives us a timeline to work with.” “Collie has been changing for a while now, we have been evolving. We’ve still got a way to go. But at least we’ve got a timeframe.” Michael Hart, who was born and bred in the town and was employed as a mechanical worker at Griffin Coal for two decades, said the dates had set clarity for a community ready to move on. Now running Whisk Nutrition Bar with his wife Rhonda, Mr Hart it was time for residents to adjust, educate and get processes into place for their future. “Because of the uncertainty, people were anxious and nervous about the change because they didn’t know when it was going to happen,” he said. “Now they know when it’s gonna happen, they know the support structures that are available to them. “I feel people can move forward individually as families and as a community to, you know, to keep living within Collie and in the South West.” Collie Shire president Sarah Stanley said the community had worked in collaboration for years with the State Government, unions and private sector to ensure it diversified and prospered. “So far, we have managed to attract investment in graphite, emergency services equipment manufacturing, medicinal cannaponics and waste to energy, among others,” she said. “Our focus now must be on securing major industrial developments that will provide good blue-collar jobs in Collie for the workforce impacted by the closure of power stations and mines. “We must make sure we consider the needs of the whole community are looked at — of course, the workers directly employed at the mines and power stations — but also the indirect workers, the services industries and the more vulnerable members of our community.” As was announced in 2019, Muja Power Station C’s Unit 5 will close later this year, with Unit 6 to cease generation in 2024. It was confirmed on Tuesday that Collie Power Station would close in late 2027, before the last remaining Muja D generators were shut in late 2029. Mr Johnston also said it was expected Synergy would stop purchasing electricity from Bluewaters Power Station, putting the future of the privately owned business in doubt. A total of $3.8 billion will be pumped into green electricity infrastructure over the next decade — including wind farms and 4000MW hours of storage in the form of batteries and pumped hydro. Mr McGowan also committed a further $550 million for Collie’s transition away from coal, bringing the total spent so far to more than $662m.