Federal Member for the Hunter Joel Fitzgibbon says four years of policy confusion has put Australia on the brink of an energy crisis; but Newcastle could turn this future around.
The principal trade of the Port of Newcastle is coal and it is the world's largest coal export port.
Joel Fitzgibbon says Newcastle is the perfect place to deliver affordable and reliable energy to the manufacturing sector with land, transmission lines and a workforce already abundant in the area.
"Well sadly our coal generators are coming to the end of their commercial lives and we are well placed to replace them with gas based generators. Our future is in renewable and storage technology, but they are some way off yet and we need a transition fuel to get us to a heavier reliance on renewables and there's no better place to do this than the Hunter region," he said.
The precarious energy crisis needs to be resolved sooner rather than later, and Joel Fitzgibbon thinks the government should provide the policy guidance needed to bring gas to the market, and to Newcastle.
"It's a plan for jobs, a plan for economic growth and a plan for a cleaner future. Let's get on with it."
