COAL-FIRED POWER STATIONS — CLOSURE
392. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I have a supplementary
question. Can the Premier confirm that contractors working for government
agencies will receive the same transitional redundancy package as direct
government employees as part of the just transition package?
Mr M. McGOWAN
replied:
These things are being worked
through. We have not worked out the exact arrangements. Depending upon whom
they work for, their redundancy entitlements are different under their
industrial agreements. That is the way it currently
works. Whether they work for Synergy, for Griffin Coal or for Premier Coal,
their redundancy entitlements are currently different. In terms of contractors,
of course that is different as well. I have asked the transition group to
provide advice to the government on what it thinks should happen here. That is
something that we will consider. I met with the Collie Just Transition Working
Group at Collie council chambers on Tuesday of last week and said that we invite them to put forward whatever
options and ideas they might have on these matters. I think that is a fair
way of dealing with it. The first of the
closures that we announced the other day will not happen until October 2027.
It is now 2022. There is a considerable period to work through these details.