A coalition of Hunter organisations is calling on the NSW Government to urgently pass its own stalled legislation protecting coal workers from sudden mine closures, in the wake of Yancoal’s announcement that almost 300 jobs will be lost at the Ashton mine near Singleton over the next 18 months.
The Future Jobs and Investment Bill was introduced to Parliament in November 2025 and passed the Legislative Assembly with support from the Coalition and the crossbench, but remains stalled in the Legislative Council. If passed, it would require mine owners to give early notice of closure and prepare a transition plan for workers facing redundancy. The same protections that did not apply to Ashton’s workforce, who received no warning and have no transition plan in place.
Hunter Jobs Alliance Community Organiser Sam Wilkins said the Ashton closure was not an isolated event.
“Ashton isn’t a one-off. It’s the second unexpected closure this year,” he said.
“Every week the Future Jobs and Investment Bill sits in the Legislative Council is a week Hunter workers go without protection they’ve already been promised.”
The business coalition is also calling on the NSW Government to commit a minimum of $150 million a year to fund transition support across NSW coal regions, representing five per cent of the roughly $3 billion in coal royalties the state collects annually. The current annual commitment of $25 million is shared across four coal regions.
Hunter Community Alliance Lead Organiser Erin Killion warned the economic consequences extended well beyond mine workers themselves.
“Whole towns in the Hunter run on coal incomes. There is a real risk that the changing economy could deepen the inequality that already exists,” she said.
“Without a legislated Future Jobs and Investment Authority, these communities and those most vulnerable in them are an afterthought. With one, they’re written into the plan.”
