Thread by @gemoase

Here’s a thread on Mobil’s announced closure for the Altona refinery, what it means for workers, tackling global warming and economic recovery. 1

Let’s start with the workers. Who they are and what skills they have. 2

There are a lot of operators with 5 to 10 years experience, which means they have a good 20 years + of work left. 3

The major reason Altona has stayed open for the last 20-30 years as a relatively small and old refinery is because of the quality of its people. 4

Altona is ranked world-class in terms of its skills. The refinery would regularly export operators and other staff around the world to drive up the quality of the company’s operations. 5

The net impact here is that we are losing about 350 jobs that support highly skilled people, many of whom have decades to run in their careers. 6

This has flow on impacts for manufacturing workers, and workers in Altona’s chemical complex in Melbourne’s western suburbs, impacting supply chains from fertiliser, paint and pharmaceuticals. 7

In short, thousands of other good manufacturing jobs hang in the balance. 8

Altona’s closure won’t cut Australia’s carbon emissions. In 2019, we imported about 60% of the refined petroleum we used. The net impact is that we will import more refined product. 9

Altona’s closure, however, will prejudice building Australia’s post-carbon energy infrastructure. 10

There’s a lot of overlap in refining skills between hydrocarbon refining and renewable hydrogen refining. Remember we have world-class operators and technical staff on this site. 11

This is a decision by ExxonMobil to shutdown its Altona refinery — not to sell it. EM has lost hundreds of billions of dollars in its valuation. 12

They will be refining the fuel through Singapore instead. 13

The net affect is a more efficient sweating of existing fossil fuel infrastructure. Taking advantage of existing industrial oversupply. 14

Basically by not having a climate and energy plan, we have become the objects of corporate plans instead of democratic subjects building our future together. 15

Because this is about a corporation’s reaction to a drop in demand driven by COVID and changing energy technologies, more digging and drilling won’t fix anything. 16

In short, Australia’s energy supply-chain is only as secure as the corporates allow it to be. 17

Parliamentarians will say there is nothing they can do now that EM has made its decision. Bullshit. 18

The state has an overriding power of compulsory acquisition. It’s used to build freeways. It can be used to build a new energy future. 19

The only way we can properly look after manufacturing and energy workers is through the state implementing a far more activist industrial policy. 20

This can be done best through either a declaration of a climate emergency or a solid plan to meet our obligations under the Paris Agreement. Or better yet, both. 21

That’s right. Even on more narrow job security terms an ambitious climate plan is now in the interests of fossil fuel supply chain workers. 22

Basically, Australia has the power to partially suspend our trading obligations in order to properly tackle global warming. 23

In refining, for instance, the federal government could introduce a domestic quota for refined product. The idea being that X% of petroleum products must be refined locally. 24

This would be done to maintain the existing infrastructure until such products are no longer socially necessary. 25

It would make petrol more expensive but it should be done in the context of weaning people off of it through more support for PT and EVs. 26

Also if we just stopped punishing unemployed and underemployed workers at the same time, that would make a difference. 27

The refining quota is just one example of a bridging claim. Using climate tariffs and industry policy, we could build a whole supply chain centred on abundant renewable energy and skilled labour. 28

Think hydrogen, green steel, aluminium and EVs being exported to the world. 29

The first 60 odd years was about protecting Australian industry from international competition. The next 60 years has been a Bacchanalian orgy of competitive destruction. 30

Now we have an opportunity to reset Australian industry, protecting it in order to better cooperate with the rest of the world. 31

We have an opportunity to provide good secure jobs and address global warming. It’s up to us as a collective to force our leaders to be better than second-rate. 32

If you want receipts or evidence for any of the above claims most of them will be found here:

drive.google.com/file/d/1rQ015R… 33