Thread by @BelindaJones68

Hey @AlboMP

Mind if I have a word?

I'll be frank, I'm not happy about what appears to be Labor capitulating to the coal industry in response to the electoral defeat & the concerns of QLD mining communities.

I want to see Labor creating pathways out of coal
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#auspol #qanda

I just can't reconcile how Labor can both pursue proactive climate change policy while also supporting coal. Can't get my head around it.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I note the wording has changed slightly from 'supporting a transition from coal' to now 'supporting coal'.

The reason coal-dependent communities fear losing the coal industry is that it will adversely affect them financially, fair call.

But I want to take a look at the big picture.

Often mining communities are FIFO/camp-living situations, long hours, hard yakka.

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#auspol #qanda

There are often two cohorts in these FIFO camps:

1. The young ones making their first fortune, buying their first house, got the jet-ski, late-model car, all the toys but no time to find a relationship on a FIFO schedule or trying to juggle a relationship on a FIFO schedule.

There spouse is at home doing the lion's share of raising the kids.

These mining workers give up a lot to earn the big dollars, they miss their kids' birthdays, wedding anniversaries, everyday milestones, hardly any family time.

When they do get R&R they're usually exhausted.

This puts enormous strain on relationships.

Statistically, most fail.

Assets are divided, not always equally & everybody starts again.

Miners know there is a race on.

It's a race between how much money you can make before your body breaks down or retirement age.

2. Then you've got the older ones, usually they have leathery, sun-weathered skin, tough, their a bit cranky & embittered cuz they've chased the coin in mining & lost their families & homes & toys & cars & jet-skis along with their 1st, 2nd, even 3rd fortunes.

Both cohorts are trapped in the 'Golden Handshake'

That means: in mining the lifestyle is shit but the money is too good. Many lose everything that they truly value in this pursuit.

But once they've lost everything in the divorce, they are then compelled to keep-on going in the industry bcuz they have to start over again b4 their body breaks down.

Eventually, they give-up on relationships & just spend their R&R w/ prostitutes in The Philippines or Thailand

Nobody talks about this part of mining, do they?

Fact is, mining rips families apart

There is a huge social cost to that

Now, I know no mining worker wants to go from $3-$4K or more per week to $275 per week on #Newstart, that's a no-brainer

And that's their fear, fair call.

So, Albo, instead of capitulating to coal I want to see you & Labor to create pathways out of coal for these ppl.

For example:
Let's create a few more University towns in rural & regional Australia, similar to USA 'college' towns, in areas currently reliant on coal mining.

Opportunities for all levels of the community

'If you build it, they will come' theory

Bcuz I reckon, given the opportunity, most in the mining industry would love to go home every night to their families if they could earn decent coin. It might help keep families together.

It'll also provide more university placements.

It'll give rural & regional kids opportunity to study closer to home.

It would have to be a whole community initiative (i.e. infrastructure/housing/schools/etc), not just plonk a university in the middle of a struggling community

If we create solutions to address the fear that drives the support of coal, then we can change the minds of coal mining-dependent communities bcuz it appears, the #ClimateEmergency alone is not enough to make them abandon coal mining.

Just my 2 cents.

Thanks
🐝
#auspol #qanda

Oops *Their spouse...

Oops *they're a bit ....

P.S My University towns idea has another benefit to coal mining:

It decentralizes the money, instead of a big mining company getting all the $$ to (supposedly) trickle-down, most $$ fly out with the FIFOs.

$$ will be spread throughout the community to a variety of stakeholders.

And, it's a long-term, ongoing source of economic growth for the entire local economy, much longer than any mining project.