Policy Options for Accelerating Coal Mine Rehabilitation and Creating Jobs in the Latrobe Valley
The 2014 Hazelwood mine fire was one of the worst environmental and public health disasters in Victoria’s history.
The total financial cost of the fire was estimated by the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry to be over $100 million. The Inquiry found the fire was entirely preventable, and heard evidence that mine rehabilitation is the most effective way of preventing coal mine fires.
In this report, we identify the three steps required to address this issue:
1. Determining the scale of the rehabilitation task
2. Accelerating rehabilitation of worked-out coal faces to reduce fire and health risks
3. Ensure rehabilitation bonds match the rehabilitation liability to reduce the public financial risk
Click here to download a PDF version of the report or read it below.