Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes and Opposition Climate Change and Energy Minister Ted O'Brien have gone to-to-toe on national television in a heated debate over the Hunter's energy future.
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ABC panel show Q+A filmed at Newcastle's Conservatorium of Music on Monday, setting the stage for the two politicians to clash over coal power, coal exports and how to transition to renewable technology.
Cr Nelmes challenged Mr O'Brien's contention that Australia had a moral obligation to continue exporting its coal to poor countries "that simply do not have electricity for their services".
The Labor lord mayor said the Coalition's claim was a "furphy" because Newcastle's largest coal customer was Japan.
"There are several holes in the shadow minister's argument in terms of where we export coal to at the moment and what they use it for," she said.
"Our major export partner is Japan, and I think they have other forms of energy and they've got their own net zero plans.
"I think it's a really big furphy to say that we have to export coal forever because other countries need it."
Cr Nelmes said the Hunter needed "leadership" on how to shift 15,000 coal-reliant jobs to new industries and welcomed federal Labor's proposed Net Zero Authority.
"We have worked through the Coalition years as a collective here in this region setting up our own Hunter Jobs Alliance, working with different NGOs, we've adopted a climate emergency [declaration] here at the City of Newcastle, we've adopted the Paris climate targets.
"We've done everything we can to say this is coming and we need a plan."
Mr O'Brien said Hunter workers should not be fed "false promises" about hard the task would be.
"If you look at Liddell closing recently ... the majority of Liddell's workforce went to Bayswater, another coal-fired power station, and most of the others retired," he said.
"We've got to be very careful about promises that once you close down coal-fired power stations there's going to be a clean energy zone that's going to pick up all the workers and everyone's going to be OK.
"That's not going to be the case at the moment. We've got to be careful that people aren't sold false promises. This is going to be really tough."
Mr O'Brien said transitioning to net zero by 2050 required a debate about "physics, engineering, economics" and an implementation plan.
Cr Nelmes interrupted to say: "With all due respect, it doesn't demand a debate, it demands action. We need action, not a debate."
Mr O'Brien fired back, challenging Cr Nelmes to explain how NSW would replace the power generated by Eraring Power Station, which could close as early as 2025.
"That represents 25 per cent of NSW's electricity," he said.
"That's going to be going off the grid. There is no guarantee of a replacement. None.
"My question is: You want action? What action is there? What would you like?" he said.
Cr Nelmes said she had a "lot of faith" in the Labor federal government because it had "put money into this region" via the Net Zero Authority, a proposed hydrogen manufacturing hub and research and development at the university.
"This is what we needed a decade ago, and we didn't get it," she said.
Panellist Anika Wells, the Minister for Aged Care and Sport, declined to answer host David Speers' question about whether Australia could reach its 2050 net zero target while continuing to burn coal in power stations.
The Coalition has nominated nuclear power as a potential replacement for coal-fired electricity, and the ABC audience at home voted 61 per cent in favour of the proposal.
The Q+A panel also included former Knights footballer Alex McKinnon and University of Newcastle pro vice-chancellor for Indigenous strategy and leadership Nathan Towney.
Mr Towney, a Wiradjuri man, paid tribute at the start of the program to former Q+A host Stan Grant, who quit the program last month over racist abuse on social media.
"It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the absence of Stan Grant," he said.
"He's obviously had a bit of a tough road the last few months, and I just want to shout out to Stan and say thank you for his ongoing commitment and advocacy for our mob.
"His situation experiences are not isolated, so I also want to extend that acknowledgement and thanks to all those people who turn up and advocate."
Audience members also raised the issues of homelessness and continuing the city's Supercars race.
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
