In a year when West Australian voters will go to the polls twice, no town in the state represents the intersection of federal and state issues quite as much as Collie. The coal mining town, 200 kilometres south of Perth, sits at the centre of WA's main electricity grid. It faces a duelling pitch for its future. The Cook Labor government has tipped millions into the town to keep its mines and power infrastructure operating and help transition workers to a future driven by renewable energy and other "green" industries. Meanwhile, the town is the proposed site for one of seven nuclear power plants being pitched by the federal Coalition. While politicians debate the nation's energy future, those at the coalface are also contemplating what the next decade holds. Most workers who spoke to the ABC said they were broadly fine with how the transition was tracking — but not necessarily for the reasons the WA government might hope. "Some people are in disbelief that they can get rid of coal in the near future," third-generation coal mine worker Chad Mitchell said. Premier Coal mechanic Vin Battista counted himself among the disbelievers. "I don't think that the coal mines are going to close as soon as what the government would have you believe," he said. The Labor government said Collie Power Station was on track to close by the end of 2027 and Muja Power Station by the end of 2029. Government invests $20,000 per worker Government estimates indicate about 1,300 workers in Collie will lose their jobs if and when coal power is switched off. The government has spent more than $26 million on helping the workforce transition — about $20,000 per worker. State Energy Minister Reece Whitby this week announced Labor would put another $600,000 into a "Collie-specific" job app if re-elected. Mr Mitchell said workers appreciated the free training opportunities the transition package had given them access to. Though he planned to retire soon, he said he was aware many younger workers would need to find work elsewhere if the coal industry did shut. "The union's doing a really good job ... pushing for new industries, pushing for training," he said. "Hopefully there will be enough green power ... however, we've got coal as a backup if that doesn't happen." Early days for new industries Labor has repeatedly spruiked five core projects to replace coal jobs — a green steel plant, a magnesium refinery, a graphite downstream processing plant, and two large battery projects. None of the five are operational, and only the batteries are being built at scale. Green Steel WA and International Graphite are yet to make a final investment decision (FID), which is the stage of a major project that decides whether or not it will go ahead. If all five projects are built at full scale, the number of new workers expected to be recruited into ongoing roles between now and 2032 is at least 607. However, if the projects that have not met FID are not counted, that number shrinks to just 25 — 18 at Magnium Australia's pilot plant and seven for stage two of Neoen's battery project. Green Steel WA co-founder and executive director Don Johnston said he wanted to be transparent with the people of Collie. "We're pretty comfortable that if investment comes then the jobs will be there," he said. "We think there's a great opportunity there. Mr Johnston said the government ministers had noble intentions but industry development was complex and some practicalities remained unsolved. Shadow energy minister Steve Thomas said of the roughly $660 million the state government had invested in Collie's transition, about half was for infrastructure upgrades and decommissioning power stations, which he said was short-term work. "Of the rest, the government's invested in lots of smaller projects," Dr Thomas said. "But none of them look like they're going to be a replacement for the thousand jobs that need to be replaced." Job numbers depend on market International Graphite said it hoped to achieve FID soon, but the situation was at the whim of a turbulent critical minerals market. Graphite is a key resource in lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric vehicles and green energy storage. "That's been the primary reason why all the projects are delayed." The company's share price has fallen from 45 cents the month it went public in April 2022 to just under six cents in late February. Mr Worland said the best-case scenario would result in about 150 people being employed in ongoing roles by the second half of 2027. Workers in South West WA have been burned by the critical minerals market before. Last year, lithium giant Albemarle cut hundreds of jobs at its Kemerton lithium refinery, north of Bunbury, due to a downturn in market prices. At the time, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union said workers felt betrayed. "Especially workers that had left the coalfields to go start in the new economy only to find out that they've got the sack," union secretary Steve McCartney said. Authority acknowledges 'mixed messages' The federal government's new Net Zero Economy Authority (NZEA) recently visited Collie to gauge how residents felt about the transition. Chief executive David Shankey said there was a "great energy" around the town's growing reputation as a tourism destination. The state has committed millions of dollars to support tourism initiatives and small businesses in Collie. Mr Shankey acknowledged residents still had questions of exactly what "heavy industry" would take over from coal. But he said there should be no doubt the town's future was in renewable energy. "There are a lot of mixed messages in the air," he said. "I can understand why the community sort of would think, 'Well, is this going to happen?' "But we do know this energy change is happening, and we're all obliged to get ready for it."