00:00Of all the problems looming over WA's energy landscape, few cast a longer shadow
00:07than Griffin Coal.
00:08The historic company is one of only two coal mines in Western Australia, where it supplies
00:13fuel for some of the state's most important industrial players.
00:16Union official and former coal miner Greg Busson knows Griffin's importance well.
00:20It's a consistent source of power and if we had to drop that out of the system I don't
00:26know where it would be currently.
00:27But times are tough at Griffin, which has been on life support since its lenders tipped
00:31the miner into receivership three years ago.
00:34Providing the lifeline to the company is the WA government, which agreed to keep Griffin
00:38going until June 2026.
00:40More than $300 million of taxpayers' money will be spent subsidising Griffin's production.
00:46The state has previously said the cash would not be used to repay Griffin's lenders, but
00:51answers to questions in state parliament tell a different story, with the government acknowledging
00:55it had spent almost $15 million paying secured creditors.
00:59The secured creditors of Griffin are going to receive about $30 million out of the $308
01:05million that taxpayers are pouring into the black hole that is Griffin Coal.
01:10Griffin is still one of WA's most critical energy assets, supplying the coal it's used to produce
01:16about 15 per cent of the power in the state's main grid.
01:20Its intractable problems put the state in a bind, struggling to live with the miner and
01:24its lenders and seemingly unable to live without them.
01:28It is the price of keeping lights on and making sure that we've got consistent, good quality
01:32and you know it's fit for purpose power, currently baseload power.
01:36The state opposition says the government needs to come clean.
01:39When Griffin Coal continues to lose $7 million a month and it is propped up by the taxpayer,
01:45I don't think the investors should be receiving a dividend, but they are.
01:49The government declined to answer questions about the debt repayments, but insisted it is
01:53the receiver and not the state that is responsible for distributing payments between creditors.
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