The National Net Zero Authority will apply a "laser-like focus" to the demolition of obstacles to job creation in regions such as the Hunter.
The authority will commence operating as an executive body of government on July 1 with a budget of $23 million in its first year.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced the authority's establishment at Lake Liddell on Friday to the applause of union and community groups which have been lobbying for the body for more than a decade.
It was set to the backdrop of Australia's oldest coal-fired power station, Liddell, which closed a week ago.
"We want this authority to focus like a laser on any obstacles to job creation and investment. We want it to be a one-stop-shop for those who are thinking of coming to regions like this to create new jobs, to create investment and jobs for the future," Mr Bowen said.
"We want it to be a one-stop-shop for those who are thinking about the transformation, how they prepare for jobs of the future, what changes they need to make, what training they need to consider and how they can best pursue these options.
"We want it to be knocking down obstacles to people having an economic future in the Hunter and regions just like it."
Mr Bowen said the authority's membership would have a wide representation of groups and individuals involved in the nation's energy transition.
"Cabinet will be considering appointments in coming weeks; we want it to get cracking, " he said.
The government would seek to enshrine the authority in legislation to ensure its ongoing existence.
"We want to make sure it's protected so that future governments will have trouble if they want to repeal it. We want it to be the law of the land but we also want it to get up and running."
The national authority will work closely with existing bodies and infrastructures across Australia.
"When it's working here in the Hunter it will find a different existing infrastructure than it would in Collie in Western Australia, where the state government has been very engaged in the transition," Mr Bowen said.
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union president Tony Maher said the union had been arguing for the authority's establishment for 15 years.
"We've always known it was going to be necessary," he said.
"Liddell closed just recently and we were able, because of the sister plant across the road, to get an agreement with AGL to transfer people to Bayswater, but future power stations won't have that luxury. Unions won't be able to deliver that outcome without the assistance of the government.
"This is an important central government agency that covers a myriad of portfolios put together by a ministerial taskforce. It needs to have a role in regional development, in infrastructure and a range of other portfolios - skills and training industrial relations. It's a big endeavour and it's going to be decades of work for this authority."
Mr Bowen also announced the establishment of a new $400 million fund to assist industries in Australia's regions to decarbonise.
The fund to be administered by ARENA, will be a new funding stream of the Powering the Regions Fund.
"Decarbonisation is absolutely essential, but it also takes investment. We know it's in the nation's interests for industries in the regions to be invested in decarbonisation and therefore it is in the interests of the government to to help," Mr Bowen said.
The peak body representing electricity generators and retailers, the Australian Energy Council, said the National Net Zero Authority would help support existing work to manage the transition to a net zero emissions economy
"The energy transition will present significant challenges, none more so than for communities that have been reliant on coal-fired generation plants and coal mining," chief executive Sarah McNamara, said
"Government has a critical role to play in ensuring that communities are not left behind. To ensure public support for the energy market transition we need strong engagement and cooperation across all levels of government, in industry and in the communities themselves."
Business Hunter's policy and public affairs manager Sheena Martin said strong leadership and coordination harnessed through a national body would help the Hunter Region navigate the complexities that lay ahead in coming decades.
"Our communities are at risk if we can't keep people employed. A national authority will coordinate programs and policies to build a bridge for workers, contractors, and businesses working in emissions intensive industries," Ms Martin said.
"It has an important role to play in harnessing opportunities, so that regions like ours can continue to play a vital role in powering the nation, and mitigating against the worst effects of such enormous structural change."
Beyond Zero Emissions senior project manager Sam Mella said many businesses in the region were already making strides in low emissions technology.
"This is a great opportunity to shine a light on the potential of a renewable industrial precinct for the Hunter," she said.
"We've got some incredible businesses working on innovation and manufacturing, making products for the net zero world and I'm really happy that the government will be focusing on what we need to do to get to net zero, because the Hunter has got that talent in spades."
The Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy said the authority would play a key role in ensuring that communities enjoyed the benefits of the economic, social and environmental changes that would take place in regions like the Hunter in coming years.
"A transition that allows communities to help lead the way to a future beyond coal and gas will be a faster and more effective transition - and that's better for our climate," she said.
"Communities will look to this authority to support, coordinate and complement existing state and regional transition planning processes, starting with the regions experiencing closures of coal-fired power stations.
The Clean Energy Council said the authority represented an essential building block of a "Renewable Energy Superpower Masterplan".
"A Net Zero Authority will safeguard worker support, ensure regional employment and enrich education in the sector and beyond," council chief executive Kane Thornton said.
"A Net Zero Authority is a vital piece of the puzzle as we shift towards a cleaner, more prosperous economic future for all Australians.
"To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, Australia will require critical transformations over three decades, and establishing a Net Zero Authority will allow Australians to work toward a cleaner future.
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