With the imminent closure of the Yallourn coal-fired power station and job losses in the region’s timber industry, the Victorian National Party has unveiled a $20 million plan to attract new opportunities in the Latrobe Valley.

What happened? On Tuesday, Victorian Nationals leader and South Gippsland MP Danny O’Brien announced the party would deliver a $20 million plan aimed at securing new industry development for the region if the Coalition wins Victoria’s November election.

O’Brien was joined by Morwell MP Martin Cameron, who told the Monitor the plan would establish a taskforce within Regional Development Victoria (RDV) to attract, facilitate and deliver new private sector industry development.

“Yallourn is shutting in 2028, Loy Yang is wanting to shut in 2035, so we need to make sure that there are new opportunities on the horizon,” said Cameron.

Cameron pointed to renewable energy manufacturing and maintenance for big batteries, solar farms and wind turbines as potential areas of investment through the scheme.

“If it spins here in the Latrobe Valley in Gippsland, it should get fixed here,” Cameron said.

The scheme will also look at increasing private investment in data centres.

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“It has certainly put a little bit more optimism in the industry.”

Zoom out: The Victorian Coalition has flagged it may seek to extend the lives of coal-fired power stations in the Latrobe Valley past the planned closure dates set by the companies that operate them as it waits for renewable projects to come online.

Union wants more: The Mining and Energy Union (MEU) has welcomed the plan but said it falls short of the $102 million Jobs for Tomorrow plan it wants to see implemented before Yallourn's closure in 2028.

  • MEU Victorian President Andy Smith said in a statement that Latrobe Valley workers and families want to know how many local jobs will be created through this plan before Yallourn closes.

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Morwell on a knife-edge: The announcement comes as polling from Roy Morgan in late October shows One Nation ahead of the incumbent National Party in Morwell.

Cameron became the electorate's MP in 2022 after winning 54.4 percent of the vote after preference distributions.

In 2022, One Nation’s candidate for the seat only won 6.1 percent of the primary vote, but with the party surging in the last six months Roy Morgan is signalling it could be a close race.

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What do other candidates think of the policy?

Greens candidate for Morwell Rochelle Hine told the Monitor her party has been calling for a proactive plan to the end of coal-fired power in the Valley for over a decade and has been disappointed with the Labor government’s lack of forward thinkig.

“A manufacturing hub close to transition lines where we can take advantage of cheap power is a no-brainer, and we support start-up grants for new innovative industries that fit with a clean future.”

However, Hine said she did not support the investment in data centres developments in the Valley, pointing to the Greens policy to put in place a moratorium on data centres until they have been properly scrutinised.

The Monitor reached out to Morwell candidates Tracie Lund (Labor) and Casey Murphy (One Nation) for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.

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