Unions call for energy transition authority to help workers exiting fossil fuel sector

Australian unions have called for an energy transition authority to be established in the budget, pushing the Albanese government towards greater investment in decarbonisation.

The ACTU also released a letter to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, signed by more than 70 prominent business peak bodies, unions, investors and climate organisations backing the creation of an authority. These include the Australian Industry Group, the Investor Group on Climate Change and the Australian Conservation Foundation.

The ACTU, with its 38 affiliated unions and 1.8 million workers, has much greater institutional sway within Labor. The call for an energy transition authority is backed by the mining union and the Electrical Trades Union, both affiliates of the Labor party.