The introduction of a twelve-month extension to the Griffin Coal State Agreement into the Parliament yesterday is yet another sad reflection of the sorry state of the coal industry in general and Griffin Coal in particular, according to the Shadow Treasurer Dr Steve Thomas.
“State Agreement Acts are put in place to give long term certainty to major projects, especially resources projects” Dr Thomas said.
“That certainty is required for companies to make sound investment decisions.
“However, the situation is so parlous at Griffin Coal that the Government was unable to provide any certainty at all.
“The Government has managed to cobble together a twelve-month extension of the Griffin Coal State Agreement to avoid a crisis on the 1st of July when the current one expires.
“This is a second rate outcome that is a result of the disastrous state of Griffin’s finances and operations, and it gives no confidence to coal industry or community of Collie that the future will be any better.
“The discussions on the agreement have been going on for months, and we can only assume no longer-term resolution could be reached that the Government could support.
“They are discussions, however, that the Government has kept secret, and given the poor outcome I can only assume the negotiations are too embarrassing to release.
“This result only adds to the long-held concerns about the viability of an industry the Government is closing down.
“It is no wonder the McGowan Government took the extraordinary step of importing 100,000 tonnes of coal from Newcastle in NSW in an extraordinary snub to our own coal mining hub of Collie.
“The government’s poor management has left them struggling to keep the lights on!
A long-term solution to the woes at Griffin is needed, not kicking the can twelve months down the road.”
