Alliance Calls For Coal Mines To Return To State Ownership
The Alliance Party says for an effective “just transition” to take place, and to keep profits in the local economy, existing coal mines should be returned to public ownership.
West Coast-Tasman candidate Sara Dyatlova-Murphy says that the government, not private and overseas interests, are best placed to manage environmental impacts, and oversee retraining and redeployment of workers from extractive industries.
“Society still has a need for these resources, and relying on countries overseas to produce them hides the environmental cost from our own balance sheet and forces it onto others,” she says.
“There are new technologies being developed that will replace coal. NZ Steel’s Glenbrook smelter has announced this month that they are now using their new electric arc furnaces, halving coal usage. The coal Glenbrook uses is domestic thermal coal, not West Coast coking coal, but the direction of travel is clear.”
The Alliance Party has specific concerns about leaving a just transition in the hands of foreign owned extractive companies, particularly for communities in places like Buller where job losses would have a huge impact beyond the directly employed workers themselves.
“The government has to take an active role in creating well paid jobs and training opportunities for workers. We will not throw workers, households, and the wider community under the bus,” Ms Dyatlova-Murphy says.
The Alliance has a robust National Development Strategy and Regional Development Strategy to invest in and support innovative, value-adding domestic industries and manufacturing throughout the regions, alongside a rapid plan for decarbonisation of the New Zealand economy.
The purchasing back of coal mines into state ownership means we have more control of the environmental impacts of mining, she says.
The Alliance is deeply concerned at the recent fast track application by Bathurst to extend West Coast mining, says Ms Dyatlova-Murphy.
There needs to be a considered and nuanced view of the future of mining on the West Coast. The answer is neither “close them all down immediately” or “dig baby dig”.
The Alliance is opposed to fast-tracking projects whose primary purpose is large-scale resource extraction for corporate gain, particularly where the environmental effects could persist for generations.
“As a party, we are opposed to expansion of coal mining, and we would instead invest in developing and adopting alternative technologies. We would as the government commit to funding more research and development of green technologies as a part of our Economic Development Plan.”
