Farewell, Peter Colley

This month we thanked and farewelled our National Research Director Peter Colley on his last day with the Mining and Energy Union before his well-earned retirement.

For 33 years Peter has been our most trusted source of industry expertise and he is a legend among labour researchers around the world.

During this time, Peter has been regarded as the foremost authority in the world trade union movement on energy and resource economics, and the Mining and Energy Union was lucky to have him in our camp. Case after case in the Coal Industry Tribunal, and later in the Commission, Peter ran rings around the employer advocates attempting to cross examine him about company accounts, energy and resource economics.

He has been at the forefront of many challenges in our industry, particularly as we fought to stop the de-unionisation of the black coal industry, as well as fighting for quality mining jobs while navigating climate change.

His work has always been first class and ensured that whenever representatives of our Union went into a situation, they were armed with the best knowledge and advice.

Peter as the bloke is a great mate to all of us. He is reliable, trustworthy and has always acted with integrity.

We thank Peter for his incredible contribution to our Union and the labour movement and wish him and his family all the best for the future.