Future of Hunter coal-mining communities may hinge on election result

As coal declines, the Hunter region faces competing energy visions, with Labor backing renewables and the Coalition proposing nuclear. Locals are divided, but many want secure jobs and clear plans. Justin Page from the Hunter Jobs Alliance warned, “There’s a significant issue in terms of the timing and the scale of workers that will be out of jobs that are coal-related and power-station related before nuclear comes online“. Renewable energy is well suited for the region, “We’ve got the workforce, we’ve got the skills, we’ve got the transmission infrastructure, we’ve got the port — we’ve got all the right ingredients to successfully transition.”