ASU Win - National Energy Transition Authority to be established!

5 May 2023

BREAKING: The ASU welcomes the Federal Government’s announcement today of a new National Net Zero Authority.

This is a huge win by ASU members. 

ASU members have campaigned, shared their stories, spoken to the media and lobbied in Canberra to ensure no worker, and no community are left behind in the transition to a net-zero economy.

It will drive the creation of well paid, secure jobs by coordinating policies and projects across all tiers of government, and providing skills and training in new industries for the workers that have been powering Australia for decades.

The authority will be tri-partisan, with government, energy companies and unions all represented.

The Government today outlined it will legislate the Authority and will begin the work immediately through establishing an Executive Agency to be set up on July 1, 2023.

ASU members in SA first started calling for a national energy transition authority in 2015, when Alinta Energy announced it was closing the Augusta Power Station.

It's been a long campaign since then, hindered by the previous conservative government refusing to  acknowledge climate change was real, and refusing to see that the market is already transitioning away from heavy polluting energy generation whether they like it or not.

While it sadly comes too late for our Augusta Power Station members, this authority will definitely benefit ASU members working at Torrens Island Power Station and other power stations in the future.

We will have more to do to make sure workers in energy are at the forefront of this transition.

The ASU SA + NT Branch has led the way on this national campaign, working with the ACTU and other unions to make this a reality. We are determined to make sure our energy members get the most out of this new Authority.

Well done to all our ASU members who have campaigned for action on climate change and a just transition over the years.

THIS IS YOUR WIN.

For nearly a decade, union members have campaigned to secure this commitment for their communities and for the energy sector and today we have won!