Coal Face

About 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.

Publisher

Josie Hess and Stephanie Sabrinskas

Category

comedy · news

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

15 Jan 2022

Latest episode

10 Apr 2026

Latest episodes

18 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   10 Apr 2026

   S2E8 - Beyond Coal Part 2 | The truth about Hydrogen & how community shaped life after coal

   After a century of coal, what should Latrobe Valley's identity look like in the future? In this final instalment of season 2, we explore new technologies being researched right here in Gippsland, and how a multi-year long co-designed project has led to community visioning what could be after coal. First, we dive into hydrogen with Dr Surbhi from Federation University. We explore how to cut through the greenwashing and learn what the energy could do here in Australia, if done correctly. Then we shift to local futures with Associate Professor Jess Reeves. Jess takes us inside a multi-year project she led, working with communities across the Latrobe Valley to co-design what post-mining land could become. Find out what Jess and the team discovered about the future of our home, through deliberation processes with First Nations communities, young people and local residents. To cap off the season, we also give out 'The Coalies' Coal Face Awards for things what we said that were good. Bon apitite x Show notes:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FAsPPI2LWG1RuFesqnfJnw3wN2HfeciZJBFSJwDt2Eo/edit?usp=sharing

2. 

   4 Mar 2026

   S2 E7 - Beyond Coal Part 1 | Stories That Change Us & Soil the Underdog of Mine Remediation

   It's our season finale and we’re going beyond coal!  After a century of digging, burning, and extracting, we ask the question: what actually happens next? Between election jitters, fringe politics, and the slow-motion chaos of public sector cuts, the future feels… complicated.Join Dr. Rosemary Joyner (MLRA) who talks storytelling, community voice, and what people really want: a future that’s fair, secure, and not just another corporate experiment. Then hear from Professor Thomas Baumgartl from Fed Uni who takes us deep into the dirt, literally. Soil is the underdog of mine rehab, drought is coming for us, and it turns out you can’t just chuck some grass seed on a slope and call it a day.Ps. because we yapped so much, this season finale has been split into a bonus beyond coal part 7, which we will release next month. So more Coal Face for all!Show notes/ sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vhKOtvPOdfcbsRI1ON3IhDslnjDVXg1aY3LfabJ-1kg/edit?usp=sharing

3. 

   23 Jan 2026

   ACOWE 2025 - One Does Not Simply Build a Windfarm

   This is episode is all about looking forward to Offshore wind. More specifically, the Australian Centre for Offshore Wind Energy AKA ACOWE’s Technical symposium, which happened back in September 2025. The ACOWE Technical Symposium was the first of its kind, and was presented in collaboration with the Gippsland New Energy Conference. Join us as we learn from expert guests Tamara Al-Hashimi the Technical Director of Marine Science at RPS, Associate Professor Peggy Shu-Ling Chen, PhD director at the Centre for Maritime and Logistics Management and Avi Shonberg the Chief Geotechnical Engineer at Ørsted. Thanks you to Federation University Australia and the Victorian State Government for supporting the Coal Face podcast.Show Notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16Vjma-mruFs79GpXMDT0yq8rfH26H58n8ulw7UCwbGc/edit?usp=sharing

4. 

   8 Dec 2025

   S2 E5: Yallourn: The Town That Disappeared – Displacement, Energy Extraction, and Loss

   Yallourn was a much loved company town built to house power industry workers and their families. It was much loved by resident's and a showpiece for the state of Victoria. After the Second World War, many migrants arrived to help run and expand the power station, mine and some took up residency in Yallourn. Unfortunately, the industry that helped build Yallourn also ended up being the reason for its downfall. In this episode hear from our guests David Langmore & Josef Sestokas as we take a look at some of the Latrobe Valley's migration history, displaced persons and the rise and fall of the town of Yallourn. Show Notes

5. 

   21 Nov 2025

   The Long Burn: Hazelwood Minefire, Health and Defunding Prevention

   The Hazelwood Mine Fire of 2014 left the Latrobe Valley blanketed in toxic smoke for 45 days. But the real story doesn’t end when the fire was extinguished. What came after was a reckoning: a landmark inquiry that exposed corporate negligence and health impacts. This episode asks: what did the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry change, and what did it leave unresolved? We’ll explore the creation of the Hazelwood Health Study and how it tracked the ongoing effects of smoke exposure, including heart, lung and mental health outcomes and key groups like infants and children, young people, and older people as well as broader community wellbeing. We’ll also look at how the fire forced recognition of a “health deficit” in the Valley, sparking the establishment of the Latrobe Health Assembly and Latrobe Health Innovation Zone and what the recent removal of these organisations funding means moving forward. Season two has been made possible by the support of Federation University, the Victorian Government and the Morwell Innovation CentreShow notes and sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xgEeGRpT2Me0Y07Y01v6Dwmor-U_W4CacrZHUcJYj4c/edit?usp=sharing Guest Bios Ellen-Jane Browne Ellen-Jane is currently Executive Officer of the Latrobe Health Assembly, a place of community informed health innovation situated in Victoria's Latrobe Valley. Ellen-Jane brings to the role a long history of working in the university and government sectors. These include - Principal Advisor for the establishment of the Latrobe Health Innovation Zone, Director Portfolio Services at DHHS, Academic Register at RMIT, and many other senior officer roles spanning six government departments and two Universities. Ellen-Jane also tutored in the areas of Sociology, Political Science and Law. Away from work, Ellen-Jane has a love of the Strzelecki Ranges in South Gippsland, the CWA, her old school Land Rover Defender, and Antarctic History First Editions. Ellen-Jane holds a variety of graduate and post graduate qualifications in the areas of Sociology, Political Science, and Public Administration from Monash, RMIT and Melbourne Universities. Matthew CarrollAssociate Professor Matthew Carroll is a researcher based at Monash Rural Health in Churchill in Gippsland, Victoria. Up until mid-2025, Matthew was the Co-Principal Investigator for the Hazelwood Health Study (HHS) with Prof Karen Walker-Bone. The HHS was an internationally significant 11-year longitudinal study looking at the health impacts of the 2014 Hazelwood mine fire. Matthew worked closely with community, including through co-design, participatory action and dissemination activities. The excellence of the HHS was noted through Monash Medical Faculty Dean’s awards in 2017 and 2025, and the study has led to a raft of policy changes locally and at the state and national Level. A/Prof Carroll’s research and engagement has always focused on building community, whether that be local communities (through his work with local government), rural communities (through his connections with the Australian Rural Health Education Network (ARHEN) Research Network and the Victorian Universities Regional Research Network), or the national research community (through his role as convenor of the Emerging Researchers in Ageing Network).

6. 

   24 Oct 2025

   S2 E3: Radical Valley? Power struggles, unions, the SEC and economic geography

   Radical Valley? Power struggles, unions, the SEC & economic geography. Hear from our guests Naomi Farmer, Luke Van Der Mullen & Sally Weller as we learn about economic geography discuss the SEC in its heyday, the radical history of the Latrobe Valley, power struggles. And how union actions in the Valley influenced the broader workers rights movement across Australia. Season two has been made possible by the support of Federation University, and the Victorian State Government (along with our blood, sweat & research tears and you, our wonderful coal face listening crew).

7. 

   26 Sept 2025

   S2 E2: The Golden Age of Coal? Modernist Dreams, Company Towns and Monuments

   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 activism, and with industry veteran Rob Mizzi about the hidden supply chains that kept Victoria’s lights on. It’s a journey through booming populations, brick houses, migrant workers and monumental cigars that asks what the golden age of coal really meant and what impact it had on our people and places. Show notes: Coal Face - S2E2 - Show Notes

8. 

   28 Aug 2025

   S2 Ep1 4.5 Billion Years: Gippsland's Ecology & Our Energy Destiny (& Worms)

   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 for the environment growing up in the bush, and invertebrate ecologist Dr. Beverley Van Praag about the secret lives of Gippsland’s Giant Earthworm. It’s a journey through 4.5 billion years that sets the stage for coal’s 'golden age' and the transition still unfolding today. Season two has been made possible by the support of Federation University, the Morwell Innovation Centre, our blood, sweat & tears and you our esteemed listeners.Show notes and sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1plBA5F7e07VVPzKkmAcSHE8uvc7OWolRrCe_9724ZoQ/edit?usp=sharing

9. 

   25 Aug 2025

   Coal Face S2 - Teaser

   Find out what is in store for season 2 of Coal Face in this special announcement teaser.

10. 

    30 Oct 2023

    Gippsland New Energy Conference 2023 - Youth & Future Special

    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.

11. 

    6 Jul 2023

    Coming out 2: Art & Intersectionality in The Valley with Ronald Edwards Peppers

    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=1590978367Show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aN6mIyvXmcYb0UBu5Uad80C2S_P99D-5SA0_J9_agl0/edit?usp=sharing

12. 

    26 Apr 2023

    ”No one is going to swim in that” EES Spectacular with Bronya Lipski from Environment Victoria and Chloe Babcock from Environmental Justice Australia

    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 lake)  Show notes + how to submit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ykk8Wjw-ewsWhNDU3J0pazy-6kHWqChkuNcZi3x0-e0/edit?usp=sharing

13. 

    2 Dec 2022

    Renewable Energy Revolution: Coal Face goes to the Gippsland New Energy Conference.

    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 The GNEC | we have retained full editorial control Show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17wZDWit-1dT0rvbBdLls8bCQsvc3oDgHUJwqlEMCkr8/edit?usp=sharing

14. 

    18 Aug 2022

    Smoke Stacks & Explosions - Art, Identity & The Environment at The Latrobe Regional Gallery

    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/1PF0NyZgbU-NZXgsFx2DlR_tHFCtCCHVqL7XYcA5902g/edit?usp=sharing

15. 

    19 Jun 2022

    The True Cost of Water — With Hayley Sestokas from Friends of Latrobe Water & Environment Victoria

    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 of community group Friends of Latrobe Water. Show Notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VC4K2o1lksVa4F-2eQybOGFzI9_OC0jmf34dNX_S3fE/edit?usp=sharing

16. 

    15 May 2022

    Co-ops, Climate Change and the Future — With Dan Musil from the Earth Worker Manufacturing Co-Op

    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 weetabix enthusiast Dan Musil about cooperative workplaces. Could cooperative energy manufacturing help to rebuild the Latrobe Valley as we move towards a life after coal?

17. 

    4 Mar 2022

    After the Smoke — The Hazelwood Mine Fire with Wendy Farmer

    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 Noteshttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1kyORq_98-jphG80tpE4PuCA0_KLDPGta_ffk9RIn0xU/edit?usp=sharing

18. 

    15 Jan 2022

    Wow, that’s a really big hole — With Rhonda Hastie / Mine Land Rehab Authority

    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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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.