Western Australia's Cook government is proposing to transform Collie, the state's coal mining heartland about 200 kilometres south of Perth, into a defense manufacturing hub as the region faces an uncertain economic future tied to the government's commitment to shut down coal mines and power stations four years away in 2030. Premier Roger Cook announced the proposal at the Indian Ocean Defence and Security Conference, positioning the plan as a jobs initiative for a community confronting the end of more than a century of coal-based employment.
The Defense Hub Proposal
Defence Industry Minister Paul Papalia said the weapons hub would be "like a Silicon Valley" for the local defence industry. Papalia said the government was not limiting the plan to missiles and that it could include "vehicles," "satellites," "uniforms" or "first aid kits." Cook said, "I'm a jobs dealer, I'm about establishing jobs." The proposal comes as Collie's coal sector contracts sharply. Premier Coal is cutting jobs because it has a surplus of coal and no-one to sell it to, while Griffin Coal receives millions in taxpayer subsidies each year to keep the coal flowing. The local workforce is facing mass redundancies and being forced to use up personal leave during company-enforced shutdowns.
The idea follows a pattern of ambitious proposals for Collie. Early last year, Collie was one of seven locations across Australia put forward to house a Small Modular Nuclear Reactor under a future Dutton Liberal government. The then-opposition leader promised "thousands of jobs," and the town's federal MP, Rick Wilson, said the plan would be transformative and help it transition to a clean energy future. Collie Shire president Ian Miffling said of Peter Dutton's pitch last year, "There were questions around safety, waste management and the water issues," and "There were no definitive answers on that."
Funding and Implementation Questions
Miffling said of the defence hub proposal, "I wouldn't get too excited about whether it's missiles or hand grenades, it's … about all sorts of equipment," and "It's all very broad at this stage." Local Labor MP Jodie Hanns said, "We don't know which industries are going to put their hands up, and which industries might express an interest in Collie." The WA government said it would not contribute any money itself to the defence hub and would only open up the land for development. The federal government, which is all-in on AUKUS, congratulated the Cook government for its forward-thinking but said it would be up to Western Australia to fund it.
Economic Reality and Workforce Challenges
The economic transition faces significant headwinds. The average mine worker earns $2,761 a week, according to the latest available ABS figures, compared with $1,500 in manufacturing. Locals who spoke to the ABC said lucrative FIFO work in the Pilbara or Goldfields seemed more likely than a local job in another sector. John Spoehr, a former director of the Australian Industrial Transformation Institute, said switching a coal-mining workforce to defence manufacturing would be challenging. He said, "The process of skill upgrade would be long and difficult," and added, "You're talking about people with engineering degrees, electronics degrees, master's and PhDs. That sort of investment would have to be made very soon, or would have needed to be done in the past."
The government's "just transition" plans for Collie have included millions in funding, local tourism attractions such as Guido Van Helten's enormous mural at Wellington Dam, smaller grants for individual businesses and local programs, and the installation of four "big batteries" to modernise energy storage capacity. Those efforts had generated an estimated 140 jobs so far. Collie resident Chris Martin said, "We're staring down the barrel of the death of coal now, so the town really has to reinvent itself," and added, "Tourism is a part of that, but the town needs more than that to survive." The Cook government says the 2030 exit from coal is set in stone, despite questions from experts and industry, while many in the community still believe the working life of the coal mines and the Bluewaters and Muja power stations will be extended.
Why This Matters:
The Collie proposal illustrates the fiscal and economic challenges of government-mandated energy transitions. With the state government refusing to contribute funding and the federal government declining to back the plan financially, the defense hub relies entirely on private sector interest in an undeveloped location with an uncertain workforce pipeline. The wage gap between mining and manufacturing jobs—nearly $66,000 annually—suggests workers may seek opportunities elsewhere rather than accept significant pay cuts for hypothetical local employment. The requirement for advanced technical degrees in defense manufacturing contrasts sharply with the existing skill base, raising questions about whether transition timelines align with economic reality. Meanwhile, coal operations continue receiving taxpayer subsidies while facing mandated closure, and just transition efforts have generated only 140 jobs against the scale of impending job losses. The proposal's success depends on market forces the government cannot control, while the 2030 coal exit deadline remains fixed regardless of replacement industry development.