Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. As I understand it, an invitation for expressions of interest has seen five generators progress to the negotiation stage. They include Playford B power station, Energy Brix in the Latrobe Valley, Hazelwood power station in the Latrobe Valley, Collinsville power station in Queensland and Yallourn power station in the Latrobe Valley, so three of them are in the Latrobe Valley. All five have submitted a closure proposal to the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. Following assessment of the proposals, the government expects to commence bilateral negotiations with the eligible generators. It intends to enter into contracts for closure in the near future. The government's preferred closure time frame is 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2020, although proposals for closure prior to July 2016 may be considered. Obviously, this transition will not occur overnight. We need to make sure it happens in an orderly manner, and retirement of existing high-emission capacity needs to coincide with new investment in cleaner replacement electricity generation capacity. It is intended that any contracts that are negotiated will ensure that the appropriate arrangements are put in place to preserve workers' entitlements and meet all relevant state legal requirements, including requirements regarding site remediation. In terms of the Latrobe Valley, we believe it has a bright future. The people in the Latrobe Valley understand the need for a managed transition. I think it is important that people do not play politics with these issues but try to support the community as they deal with the transition that is going on in the Latrobe Valley. We are seeing investment also coming to that area and we think that provides opportunities. (Time expired)