Speaking on FIVEAA breakfast with David and Will, co-host David Penberthy suggested Senator Di Natale shared in the blame for the job losses as a result of the plant\u2019s closure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit rich to say that coal workers are being left in the lurch,\u201d Penberthy said. \u201cIsn\u2019t it an undeniable reality that those blokes up there lost their jobs yesterday as a direct result of the purist anti-coal policies that parties like the Greens advocate?\u201d<\/p>\n
But Senator Di Natale dismissed the comments, saying \u201cnot at all\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Queensland you\u2019ve got over 10,00 people have lost their jobs in coal exports over the last couple of years because the coal price is tanking,\u201d Mr Di Natale said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a global market reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Australia needed to \u201cacknowledge the fact that coal-fired power generation will be a thing of the past at some point\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone accepts that. We\u2019re just arguing about the timeline and how to manage it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re saying is lets actually have a transition pathway.\u201d<\/p>\n