Coal Face

Coal Face

Best friends and Gippslanders Josie and Steph try to unpack what life after coal could look like in Australia, a nation still reliant on fossil fuels, one story at a time.

Episodes

September 25, 2025 66 mins

For episode 2 we pick up the story in the 20th century, when Gippsland’s brown coal fields were transformed into power stations, company towns and modernist dreams. From Purvis Plaza to Hazelwood’s hot-water pondage, the Valley was sold a “golden age”... but golden for whom?

Along the way, we speak with historian Erik Eklund about Gippsland’s twin booms, company towns like Churchill and the overlooked roots of environmental activis...

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We kick off Season 2 by going back, WAY back. From prehistoric swamps that became Gippsland’s coal seams, to Cloggs Cave and its 12,000-year-old stories, to the giant earthworms squelching under our feet, this episode digs into the ancient ground that shaped the Latrobe Valley. Along the way, we talk with botanist Ian Sluiter about coal’s ecological origins. Poet, environmental advocate and educator Electra Green about bugs, caring...

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August 25, 2025 4 mins

We are back (well almost) find out what is in store for season 2 of Coal Face in this special announcement teaser.  Episode 1, will be released later this week. Keep your podcast feeds subscribed to COAL FACE.  Follow us at https://www.instagram.com/coalfacepod/ 

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Coal Face covers the 2023 Gippsland New Energy Conference. Get all the juicy details about how the billions of dollars of new energy are going to impact the next generation of workers in Gippsland. We spoke to the Chair of the Australian Renewables Academy, Bernadette O'Connor, the Director of Emerging Industries at the Latrobe Valley Authority, Bodye Darvil, the founder and CEO of Green Lab Futures, Scott Douglas, the Regional Sta...

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Josie and Steph speak with local Gunaikurnai artist Ronald Edwards Pepper about everything from creativity to cul-de-sacs. We learn about the power art has to change spaces, and how Ronald's sexuality and connection with the land intersect with his work.  Find Ronald here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1590978367 Show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aN6mIyvXmcYb0UBu5Uad80C2S_P99D-5SA0_J9_agl0/edit?usp=sharin...

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Josie and Steph speak with Environment Victoria's Bronya Lipski and Environmental Justice Australia's Chloe Babcock on the newly released draft of the Environmental Effects Statement scope for the Hazelwood Mine Rehabilitation project. We learn what an EES is, what this one gets right, and wrong, and why it's important for people to have their say during the submission window. (or you know, we might end up living next to an acidic ...

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Join Josie & Steph as they speak with special guests Darren McCubbin, Ashley Hall, Edwina Vega, Dr Jarra Hicks, Mayor Kellie O'Callaghan & Marianne Robbinson as they discuss the Gippsland New Energy Conference, what community-owned renewable energy projects could look like and what a 40 billion dollar renewable energy sector could mean for Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley.

 

This episode was sponsored by T...

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Josie and Steph take you on a whirlwind recap of the Hazelwood Exhibit that was on display at The Latrobe Regional Gallery. The Coal Face team discuss the role of art in shaping collective identities, how space can facilitate conversations around trauma and a Morwellian myth about the Hazelwood landowner who would drive his Rolls Royce around the paddocks of the power station.   Show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PF0N...

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Water feeds the arteries of all life on earth, what is that truly worth? Josie & Steph chat with activist, chef and mushroom farmer Hayley Sestokas about growing up in the Latrobe Valley, coal ash dams, mine rehabilitation, and the important advocacy work of Friends of Latrobe Water & Environment Victoria.    

Show Notes:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VC4K2o1lksVa4F-2eQybOGFzI9_OC0jmf3...

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Your voice will be heard. You control the capital. You can do something for your community even as you keep succeeding. Sounds pretty good right?

Josie and Steph chat with worker, musician and Weet-Bix enthusiast Dan Musil about cooperative workplaces. Could cooperative energy manufacturing help to rebuild the Latrobe Valley as we move towards a life after coal?

 

Resources/ Show Notes:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F_tnrEO7...

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Eight years ago the Hazelwood mine caught fire with devastating consequences to the people of the Latrobe Valley. Josie and Steph chat to local legend and activist Wendy Farmer about how the Hazelwood mine fire changed the Latrobe Valley and the course of her life. 

Resources/ Show Notes https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kyORq_98-jphG80tpE4PuCA0_KLDPGta_ffk9RIn0xU/edit?usp=sharing

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Josie & Steph learn about the complexities of mine rehabilitation in the Latrobe Valley from horse-loving, environmental scientist and acting CEO of the Mine Land Rehabilitation Authority Rhonda Hastie.

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