This may start to concentrate the minds of a few in government, except that they're normally stupid, so perhaps incapable of so doing:
(to be in tomorrow's print edition of 'The Australian':
Coal-fired power station and mine closures ‘to ravage regions’
The closure of coal-fired power stations and associated coalmines will wreak havoc on regional economies, with unreleased government analysis revealing the unemployment rate in the NSW Upper Hunter region could increase by 6.7 percentage points and impact almost 800 jobs.
Documents obtained by The Australian show “significant” impacts of sudden shutdowns of the Liddell and Bayswater coal-fired power stations, with total income loss in the Upper Hunter estimated to be at least $33m.
The data, warning that the rise in unemployment in the Hunter would be worse than other coal-fired power station regions in the country, comes as AGL Energy brings forward closure dates for Bayswater and Liddell, which is due to shut in April next year.
The analysis was based on the “sudden and concurrent closure of all power stations with no planning or assistance and loss of all direct jobs (and) loss of 30 per cent income of CFPS and associated coalmine workers at the sites in these regions”.
“The closures could have a significant impact – with an estimated increase in the unemployment rate of 6.7 percentage points (the largest for all CFPS regions).
“The region is also expected to be affected by closures of power stations in nearby Lake Macquarie-West and Wyong occurring in 2030,” the document said..."
(20min delay)