Let’s stop pretending.
Dan Repacholi says “workers matter” — but here’s the truth he and the Labor-backed unions won’t say out loud.
If you work in coal or energy and you’re a member of a Labor-backed union, then when your job disappears, look in the mirror — not at Origin, not at “the market”, not at conservatives.
Those unions back Labor.
Labor backs Net Zero.
Net Zero shuts coal.
Dan Repacholi votes for and defends that agenda.
This isn’t a mystery. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s a written, legislated, proudly announced policy program that guarantees closures across the Hunter.
You don’t get to fund the unions backing Labor, vote Labor into power, applaud Net Zero targets — and then act betrayed when the mine shuts and the redundancy letter arrives.
That’s not being stabbed in the back.
That’s walking voluntarily to the chopping block.
Dan Repacholi can turn up to union BBQs, shake hands, pose for photos and say all the right words — but none of that changes the fact that the policies he supports make coal workers disposable.
Union family fun days don’t equal job security.
Photo ops don’t pay mortgages.
Slogans don’t stop shutdowns.
Unions holding BBQs while backing Net Zero aren’t standing up for workers — they’re managing the optics of decline. They’ll cry, issue angry press releases, blame corporations… then quietly keep supporting the same policies that guarantee the closures.
Coal workers are being used as political props while their livelihoods are traded away for inner-city applause and climate credentials.
So no — don’t tell us “workers matter” while backing the very framework designed to erase their jobs.
If you back Net Zero, you back shutdowns.
If you back Labor unions, you back Net Zero.
If you back Dan Repacholi and Labor, you back both.
The Hunter Valley isn’t stupid.
And it’s done pretending this betrayal is an accident.