Water and coal – Transforming and redefining ‘natural’ resources in Australia’s latrobe region

Victoria’s Latrobe Region is typically defined by its brown coal used for electricity production, but this focus obscures the complex histories and ecologies that underpin it. In this paper, assemblage theory is used to analyse the region’s transformations and the core role played by not just coal but water and climate in shaping the region. A century of state sponsored coal development has resulted in the region’s current economic reliance on fossil resources, but the recent closure of Hazelwood Power Station signals mounting pressures for decarbonising. In a climate of increasing constraints on coal use and uncertainties about water abundance, regional identities and resources are being redefined, highlighting the social co-construction of resources and regions. Analysis of the co-evolution and transformations of the region’s carbon, water and society assemblages supports the idea of new assemblages emerging with altered carbon-water dynamics.