THE Victorian Government has laughed off comments by mining magnate and potential Federal senator Clive Palmer it is failing to expand Latrobe Valley’s brown coal mining sector.
Signalling his intentions to run candidates at next year’s state election, Mr Palmer said the State Government’s ability to support the Valley’s power sector was of particular concern.
“So many power stations have closed down, we need to go back and re-establish Victoria’s industrial base.” Mr Palmer told The Age last week, without referring to which power stations had actually closed.
”The [state] Liberal Party has some policies, but there has been little action from the state to actually get some mines going, so there is a difference between rhetoric and getting things happening.”
In response, a spokesperson for Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said the government had “runs on the board” in terms of supporting Latrobe Valley industries and the jobs they created.
The spokesperson pointed to a current tender process designed to allocate coal resources to new coal development opportunities, and the Latrobe Valley Industry and Infrastructure fund.
While the former Kennet government has been criticised for abandoning the Valley during the privatisation of the power industry, Mr Palmer’s comments come in direct contrast with environmental groups’ criticism of the current government for being too focused on developing the brown coal sector.
The Express attempted to seek further comment from Mr Palmer, however only managed to keep him on the phone for about 15 seconds, amid his frantic post-election schedule.
“I’m about to get on a plane, I’m going overseas tomorrow,” Mr Palmer said on Thursday, who spent the day in Brisbane on Friday.
