The voters in Upper Hunter may have elected a pro-coal candidate nine days ago, but it remains to be seen whether the result is a victory for coal jobs. 

Pro-coal members of the Coalition have claimed the result provides further evidence that the Coalition can win key seats with a pro-coal agenda, with nearly 80% of first preferences going to candidates who expressed support for the coal industry. Perhaps this is the case. 

However, many in the Coalition will plausibly take an entirely different lesson from the weekend – the Coalition can win seats in Australia’s heartland by giving lip service to coal jobs while pursuing green policies to defend their seats in the inner-city. 

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