Just Transition in Australia – depoliticisation?

We cannot and should not assume that Just Transition (JT) is a straightforward and uncontested concept. In this article, we turn a critical eye on JT, firstly by looking at the origins and development of the idea. Secondly, we will look at the theoretical frameworks that have been mobilised to underpin JT. Thirdly, we will look at the way that trade unions in Australia, both through the ACTU and individual unions, have approached the subject, as well as the approach put forward by an Australian Senate Inquiry into the future of jobs in regional Australia. We will look in particular at the way that the move to a new model of regional development is critically affecting JT. We examine the impact of this emerging model with growing demands for a National Transition Authority to drive and coordinate transitions. Our concern is that in engaging with an emerging and powerful view of regional development that combines Renewable Energy Industrial Zones, hydrogen hubs and public-private partnerships, JT is being replaced by notions of decarbonisation or even diversification that threaten to undermine the value and power of the concept.