NEWS DESK
‘Secret deal’ for toxic Keith Platt keith@baysidenews.com.au A WARNING has been issued that plans to create liquid hydrogen from brown coal in the Latrobe Valley could ultimately lead to a polluting industry being established in Western Port. Hastings MP Neale Burgess says Kawasaki Heavy Industries has signed a “secret deal” with the state government that could lead to “long coal trains or a coal slurry pipe bringing huge amounts of coal to Hastings, building of a huge coal gasification plant at Hastings and the produced hydrogen being shipped through Western Port”. Mr Burgess’s opposition to the plant being located at Hastings or anywhere in Western Port contrasts with that of his federal Liberal colleague, Flinders MP Greg Hunt, who has only ruled out Crib Point for “reindustrialisation”. Mr Hunt said he was “utterly opposed” to Western Port being used as a coal port, adding “I have made it clear that Crib Point should not be reindustrialised for hydrogen or bitumen”. However, the proposal would involve hydrogen, not coal, being exported from Hastings. Mr Hunt said he knew of discussions between the state and Kawasaki but “as far as I am aware, at this stage no decisions have been made as to the port they will use”. Mr Hunt would not rule out a coal
gasification plant being sited at Hastings or other parts of Western Port. “Any proposal would need the approval of the state government and I would urge them not to approve any industrial use at Crib Point,” he said. Acting Resources Minister Philip Dalidakis said the state government “has been working with Kawasaki Heavy Industries and the Commonwealth on an engineering study to investigate the possible production of hydrogen from brown coal”. “This project is in the very early stages and we are keen to explore all serious investments that have the potential to create much needed jobs in the Latrobe Valley.” Unemployment in the valleyt is about to rise with the closer of the Hazelwood power plant. Mr Burgess was on Thursday 12 January turned away from a meeting between the Port of Hastings Development Authority and Kawasaki executives. Afterwards, in an email, the authority’s chief financial officer Mark O’Donnell said he had been advised “that if a member for parliament is seeking any information in relation to the Port of Hastings Development Authority they should direct their inquiry to the Minister for Ports [Luke Donnellan]”. Mr Burgess said the Coalition “supports the exploration of uses for our valuable brown coal deposits and al-
though there is a lot of work to be done to make it viable, its conversion to hydrogen is one of those potential uses”. “However, the Coalition was clear while in government and has confirmed in opposition, that Western Port is the location of Victoria’s second container port and that it would not be used for any of the toxic purposes the Labor Party had previously earmarked it for, including coal, urea and bitumen. “Western Port is not the appropriate place to ship coal to, whether via long coal trains, slurry pipe or any other
means, or to develop a huge gasification plant for turning that coal into hydrogen.” It is understood Kawasaki is already building a ship to transport liquid hydrogen which would initially be produced at a pilot plant in the Latrobe Valley. If proved viable, a much larger plant would be built at Hastings. Environmentalists argue that the process adds to Australia’s carbon emissions while Japan gets the benefit of a much cleaner fuel.
Many of Mr Burgess’s concerns are echoed by Jenny Warfe, of the Blue Wedges environmental action group. “A pilot project is expected to start in 2020. Under the plan hydrogen will be produced from brown coal from the Latrobe Valley, so it’s odds on that Hastings would be the unlucky recipient of this project,” Ms Warfe said. “Although representatives from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and Japan’s transport ministry signed an agreement in Canberra, the public has been kept well in the dark about the
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