Miner tells Illawarra workers: coal will close, get into renewable jobs now

Darryl Best retired after decades working in coal mines, first as an electrician then in supervisor and production manager roles in the Illawarra.

Speaking after the latest Wollongong Resources layoffs at Russell Vale, Mr Best said it was clear mines would close sooner or later - so don't wait until it's too late to start preparing.

"They are closing, one way or the other, whether it's a philosophical point of view, or people stop buying a coal, or whatever, but they're closing," he said.

"You look at Westcliff, Wongawilli, Russell Vale - and Dendrobium's slated to close in 2027 or '28.

"When they do, those closures have a devastating effect on families and communities. In the past there were lots of other mines to go to - and there aren't now.

"They're not opening up new mines and while we have really low unemployment levels in the Illawarra, there aren't jobs for coal workers to transfer into."

Mr Best worked at both of Wollongong Resources' mines (then named Wollongong Coal), including at Russell Vale where 80 workers were laid off, with another 100 also to go, after a series of serious safety incidents including underground fires caused the government regulator to impose restrictions.

The latest "frictional ignition incident" on January 5 prompted the NSW Resources Regulator to restrict activities around the borehole where gas caught fire.

At January 15 meeting 100 workers were told they would lose their jobs, with the atmosphere at the site described as "high tensions and low motivation" as early-career miners realised there may be nowhere for them to go.

Mr Best said the Illawarra needed to prepare for more of these situations so they can be handled better - and clear pathways to training so mine workers can adapt their skills for specific jobs in renewable energy-related manufacturing would be essential.

"If you're an electrician, what do you need so that you could put solar panels on a roof? And which ones were registered training organisations that were reputable and which ones weren't," he said.

"The average guy who's working, he hasn't got time to do that.

"[We need to be able to show] this is how we train them, these are the courses you can do, and then in five years' time we'll have a workforce trained, or we'll have everything in place, so that when these people are out of work they've got somewhere to go. That's really important.

""It might be solar panels, it might be Green Gravity, it might be wind turbines. It's really important that it's a renewable focus because that's where the future will be. This is a massive number of the workforce that we need."

He has been working with the group Hi Neighbour, led by former Orange is the New Black actor Yael Stone, and others to identify what's needed to make these pathways clear.

Mr Best wants state and government support for a skills audit, to work out where the gaps are that can be filled by training in the next few years.

"We need to show governments and councils that there's an urgency for action in establishing these industries locally," Mr Best said.

"It's no use waiting for all the mines to close and then reacting and saying oh, we've got 2000 people out of work."

There is not a firm date for the closure of the Dendrobium mine at Mt Kembla, after owner South32 withdrew its modified bid to expand. It had been expected to close in 2024, then 2028, but could stay open as long as 2032, South32 CEO Graham Kerr has suggested.

The future shape of the Russell Vale mine is uncertain in the wake of its layoffs, and Mr Best says the time to act is now.

"I was at Wongawilli when it closed and the workers there, they got scattered everywhere," Mr Best said.

"They went up to Sydney to work in the tunnels for [motorways] or they ended up in Queensland and Western Australia up in the mines there.

"So these people or families, they're lost to the community or they have fragmented family lives. If they do fly in, fly out, they're away for two or so weeks and we also lose a lot of income to other businesses in the Illawarra.

"We want the Illawarra to thrive, not stagnate or go backwards, so we don't want these people going out. Renewables, I believe, offer the chance for coal workers to adapt their skills to fit into these jobs."