Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to rise to speak on the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Legislation Amendment Bill 2026. It's a great privilege to represent part of the Latrobe Valley in this federal parliament. In addressing my remarks today, I want to pay my respects to the workers in the Latrobe Valley that keep our lights on and that keep our businesses running.

Of those once four now three coal-fired power stations—we had Hazelwood, Loy Yang A, Loy Yang B and Yallourn—Hazelwood closed a couple of years ago. It was run out of town by the Victorian state government, which tripled coal royalties overnight. We now have three power stations in Loy Yang A, Loy Yang B and Yallourn. Yallourn, of course, is scheduled to close in 2028, and that's only two years away. Yallourn provides about 22 per cent of Victoria's base-load electricity, and I have grave fears that that 22 per cent base-load electricity is going to be switched off overnight, in two years time, and we do not have adequate base-load capacity to replace it, thanks to the Victorian state Labor government and the Victorian energy minister, Lily D'Ambrosio—who doesn't like any form of 24-hour dispatchable power; she's driven a number of businesses in my electorate out of town. I have grave concerns for energy affordability and reliability after 2028, and that's why I'd like to see a gas-fired peaking plant in the Latrobe Valley that would be able to provide that continuity. AEMO forecast that the NEM is going to need 15 gigawatts of gas power over the next 20 years to hold up intermittent power.

I'm proud to come from a region that grows, makes and manufactures things, and that keeps the lights on. Those answers are above and below the ground. In addressing my remarks on this bill, I acknowledge the work over a long period of time by workers in the Latrobe Valley, since the establishment of the real State Electricity Commission that the inaugural chair, Sir John Monash, led—not the new SEC set up by the Victorian Labor government, for which most employees, I think bar one, are based in Melbourne.

The coalition supports this bill because its practical, balanced and noncontroversial reforms provide certainty for workers, certainty for employers and stability for an industry that has helped build modern Australia. At its core, this legislation establishes a voluntary pathway for employers to repay historical debts relating to unpaid portable long service leave levies in the black coalmining industry. I come from a state that proudly has the largest single deposit of brown coal in the Southern Hemisphere—500 years worth, on current usage rates—but this bill is dealing specifically with the resources in New South Wales, Queensland and other states.

Importantly, these liabilities did not arise because businesses deliberately sought to avoid their obligations. Rather, they arose because of historical uncertainty around scheme coverage and interpretation—uncertainty that was brought sharply into focus through recent Federal Court decisions. As a result, some employers suddenly found themselves exposed to large retrospective debt liabilities that in some cases stretched back many years and carried potentially devastating financial consequences. Without reform, some businesses faced the prospect of immediate insolvency. Jobs were at risk. Workers entitlements were at risk. Communities that rely on the coal industry were placed under a cloud of uncertainty.

I share the great responsibility for representing the Latrobe Valley in the federal parliament with my friend and colleague the member for Gippsland. I know very well that with that large quantum of heavy industry, so too goes an ecosystem of small-to-medium businesses that interact with those larger employers, and their future and their sustainability is just as much at stake with these decisions and these risks. This bill seeks to strike an appropriate balance. It protects workers and preserves entitlements while recognising the commercial realities faced by employers dealing with those liabilities that were never intentionally avoided.

Under the bill, repayment arrangements can be staged over six years and employers who repay 80 per cent of their liability may receive a 20 per cent waiver. It's a sensible framework, and, given the diversity of investment within our energy sector and the coal industry, ensuring Australia's sovereign reputation as a safe, secure and stable place to invest is a very important imperative for all of us in this place. It allows businesses to remain viable, continue employing workers and continue contributing to regional economies while still ensuring those obligations are met. Importantly, the government has also confirmed that the Coal Long Service Leave Scheme is well placed to absorb these waivers without affecting levy rates or undermining the integrity of the scheme itself.

Long service leave in the coal industry exists for a reason. Mining is not an industry where people necessarily spend an entire career with one employer, although in my region they often do. Again, I want to pay my deep respects to and acknowledge the many workers in the Latrobe Valley power stations who have started at one power station and moved to another power station or stayed with that one power station for their entire career. They are proud of what they do. They are proud of the contribution that they make, and that deserves the greatest respect. Portable long service leave recognises that the contribution is to the industry itself, not simply to one company, and it acknowledges the reality of life in mining communities and the unique nature of the workforce.

The Coal Long Service Leave Scheme has a long history in Australia. It was established in 1949 and has been supported through Commonwealth legislation since 1992. Today, this scheme holds more than 71 million hours of long service leave on behalf of over 160,000 employees, including more than 65,000 active workers currently employed in the industry. That is a substantial national system supporting workers across Australia's coal regions.

When we talk about coal regions, it's impossible not to reflect on regions like mine in the Latrobe Valley, the Hunter region and many other regions that are proud to support the ability to grow, make and manufacture things the broader Australian economy relies on. For more than a century, the Latrobe Valley has powered our state, and I know the same can be said for other regional communities across New South Wales, Queensland and previously South Australia. The discovery and expansion of that resource has transformed our economy and many other economies across Australia.

Mining and energy generation involves physically demanding, highly skilled and often dangerous work. Whether it's underground miners in black coal regions or workers operating in massive open-cut mines and generation assets like in the Latrobe Valley, these industries have always depended on hardworking, highly skilled Australians willing to undertake difficult jobs in challenging circumstances, and those workers deserve respect. They deserve support. There are communities where generations of Australians have worked shifts through nights, weekends and public holidays to ensure homes have electricity, industries have power and businesses can operate. I know there's that sense of pride in the Latrobe Valley, where there are generations of workers in one family. I was talking to someone who is now working in one of the power stations. Her dad worked at the same power station. There's a great sense of pride and responsibility about the contribution that generations through those families make.

In regional Australia, industries like coal are not just economic sectors; they underpin entire local economies. They support cafes, mechanics, sporting clubs, schools, community groups and small businesses. A few years ago, when I was CEO of the Committee for Gippsland, I actually did a study of the small to medium enterprises attached to just one power station. I came up with a list of about 250 small businesses in the Latrobe Valley, from the car dealership to the newsagent that would sell newspapers to the tea room every day, the dry cleaner and the local sandwich shop that would do catering. All of those small businesses are connected to that broader quantum of larger industry.

It's not just confined to the power sector. I know that, for example, there are many outage workers that go between the power stations and Opal Australian Paper's pulp mill doing outage work. If you take one of those out of the region, you disrupt that whole broader economy of SME businesses and contractors who bring highly skilled, highly paid jobs and discretionary income to those communities. It's not isolated just to energy and coal. We've seen that with the timber industry as well and the devastating impact that the Victorian state Labor government have had by closing the native hardwood timber industry in regions like mine. When uncertainty hits the industry, the effects are felt far beyond the mine gate. That's why legislation like this matters. It's about ensuring that workers' entitlements remain secure while also ensuring businesses remain operational and communities remain economically stable.

The Australian Industry Group has acknowledged that many businesses would be facing hardship and potential insolvency if historical levy debts had to be paid immediately. Importantly, they recognised that this bill needed to strike a balance among the interests of workers, the interests of employers and the long-term sustainability of the scheme. I would add to that our broader economic needs and imperatives which go into big decisions like this. That balance matters. Good legislation is rarely about ideological slogans. Good legislation is about practical problem solving. This bill represents the best elements of some of those goals around practical problem solving.

It recognises that retrospective liabilities can create enormous commercial pressure. It recognises that insolvencies would help no-one—no-one in those regional communities, none of the workers, none of the associated small businesses and certainly not Australia's sovereign investment reputation internationally or any of those country towns that still very much rely on those businesses. It recognises that workers lose when businesses collapse. And it recognises that protecting entitlements and protecting jobs must go hand in hand.

Australia's black-coal industry continues to play a significant role in our national economy. It supports tens of thousands of direct jobs and many thousands more indirectly. It contributes export income, regional investment and economic activity that many communities rely upon. At a time when cost-of-living pressures are already placing a massive strain on households and businesses and when stability in major regional industries is unsure, legislation like this does matter.

It doesn't mean ignoring change or pretending that industries don't evolve over time, but it does mean recognising and respecting the contribution that coal workers and coal communities have made and continue to make to this country. It means ensuring that workers who have spent decades contributing to these industries are treated fairly and have confidence in the systems designed to protect their entitlements. It strengthens the Coal Long Service Leave Scheme, protects workers' accrued long service leave hours and provides businesses with a realistic pathway to compliance. That is why I support this legislation.

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank all the members who have contributed to this debate. The Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 is about delivering fairness and certainty for workers in the black-coal mining industry and supporting employers. The bill creates a practical, time limited pathway for employers to resolve unpaid levies in a manageable way so workers can access their lawful entitlements without delay. The bill also introduces an effective penalty for late levy payments that promotes employers' timely compliance with their obligation and contributes to the Coal Long Service Leave Scheme's long-term sustainability.

I'd like to acknowledge the work of the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee and thank all those who made a submission for their constructive engagement. The committee's report recognised the importance of resolving longstanding uncertainty while protecting workers' entitlements and highlighted practical issues around timeframes, historical records and prior long service leave payments. The government has listened carefully, and, shortly, the government will be moving amendments to respond directly to these matters. The government's amendments provide targeted refinement to the bill by allowing limited flexibility to extend opt-in timeframes for individual employers, broadening the use of reasonable assumption when historical records are missing or incomplete and ensuring that employers are not required to pay twice for long service leave they've already provided. Together, these changes along with the bill support participation in the payment arrangements, protect workers' entitlements and ensure the bill operates fairly and as intended. I commend the bill to the House.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for the contribution. The question before the House now is that this bill be read a second time.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.