Just giving money to multinational corporations to continue to operate fossil fuel infrastructure, including refineries, doesn’t help workers earn a secure living.

So why do it? Because it helps corporations suck as much profit from existing infrastructure as possible before cutting and running. Leaving workers without jobs and communities with the clean up cost.

So what would work to secure the long-term income of refinery and oil supply-chain workers? Stay with me here.

1. Start with the truth. Energy is in transition. Follow the money, follow the shifts in the relative price of technology changes. AND...

The fact that there is a climate emergency. Workers are smart. They see what is happening in their daily lives. This isn’t about getting into debates about the science, it’s about recognising the reality of our lives experiences of a changing climate.

2. Declare a climate emergency. It is actually squarely in the interests of Australian workers in the oil supply-chain including refining for the federal government to do this. Why?

Because making a declaration gives the state the power to make greater interventions in the energy system that both deals with the climate emergency and looks after workers (even on relatively narrow economic grounds).

Basically, a declaration of a climate emergency allows the federal government to suspend the country’s trade obligations in so far as they hamper our ability to grapple with such emergency.

3. Introduce a quota for locally refined oil on the domestic market. Declaring a climate emergency would give the government the power to do this.

Australia only refines a minority of the petrochemicals that we use domestically. Putting in place this bridging mechanism means that we can both secure the existing jobs of refinery workers while reducing total petrochemical consumption

4. Introduce quotas and other mechanisms to build up renewable hydrogen refining. A bridging mechanism only works if leads somewhere new. We know what those new industries, we just need to build them and fight to make sure the jobs are as good if not better.

5. If you still need to give $$ to the sector make sure it comes with mutual obligations. It’s not just funnelling money to keep the status quo going for longer. Such mutual obligations could include:

Making sure workers get paid on the job training, and pre-existing skills recognition for the jobs we need doing. Making the facilities work more efficiently or produce more efficient fuel. Giving the public an ownership stake in return for the capital funding.

6. Make sure workers are properly consulted every step of the way. Fuel workers do really important essential work. They are smart. They know how to re-tool their work.

We can have quality jobs in liquid fuel going forward. It’s all here: http://bit.ly/fuelworkerplan