Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Resources and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Hasluck for her question. As a proud Western Australian, she understands the importance of the resources and energy sector to Western Australia and also to the Australian economy at large. I am pleased to say that last Saturday I had the honour and pleasure of joining with the new Western Australian Premier, Mr Colin Barnett, to officially open the fifth train of the North West Shelf LNG venture. I might also add that on the Friday I was lucky enough to have discussions, prior to the opening, with the new Western Australian Premier about the importance of us working in a bipartisan way to actually best position the Australian community to weather the current economic storm. I only wish the same approach applied to the federal opposition with respect to the economic security package currently being debated by the Australian community.

The North West Shelf Venture is a statement about the success of key international petroleum companies—notably, Shell, BP, Mitsui, Mitsubishi and Chevron—working in a cooperative way to actually put in place a major LNG export opportunity for Australia. It is also a major achievement of our successful home-grown companies, notably Woodside and BHP Petroleum. The $2.6 billion investment effectively means that Australia, the eighth-largest energy exporter in the world, will now become the fourth-largest exporter of LNG. That is a major achievement.

In terms of the project itself, the project represents an investment of $2.6 billion. The North West Shelf overall now represents assets of more than $25 billion. In terms of exports, it now creates an opportunity for us as a nation, just out of the North West Shelf Venture project, to export 270 cargoes a year of LNG to major economies who depend on the Australian community in terms of having a regular, reliable supply of energy to actually drive their own economies. Given the current economic storm that is confronting the world, that is exceptionally important. This is not just about our traditional markets; it is also about our key Chinese market. We have to make sure that we continue to work in a cooperative way as we go through these economic challenges to maximise our export opportunities in the very important market of China.

The project employed 1,800 people at the peak of its construction and contributed $1.6 billion to the Australian economy. I might also say that in terms of jobs—this is perhaps something for our non-government organisations to think about—when you think about overseas aid you should not think about just the millennium goals and the percentage of our GDP actually spent on overseas aid. This project alone—of $2.6 billion—employed 4,000 people in Bantam, Indonesia, constructing the necessary ingredients to enable the project to succeed.

I am also pleased to report to the House that prior to the opening of LNG train 5 I had the opportunity with representatives of Woodside to visit the adjacent Pluto LNG project, another major export opportunity of outstanding achievement by the Australian community. This represents an investment of $12 billion and further cements our nation as a major exporter of energy products. Perhaps more importantly, given the current economic challenges confronting Australia, more than half of that capital will be spent in Australia between 2007, when site preparation commenced, and the first LNG export in 2010. That is a very important investment in terms of us maximising economic opportunities at this time. At its peak it will employ 3,000 workers on construction, and in production it will guarantee another 300 workers an opportunity to work in this key Australian export industry.

I simply say on behalf of the Australian government that we will continue to work with all state and territory governments and the business sector to deliver key projects such as this. I say that because the Australian government is absolutely committed to providing an internationally competitive investment and regulatory framework which guarantees those LNG projects. Those projects—as is not appreciated by the opposition, who just want to play petty politics at these challenging economic times—are vital for jobs, exports, economic growth, regional development and investment. Unlike the opposition, the Australian community understands the importance of those key aspects of the Australian economy. I might also say that it is important for the sustainable economic growth of Australia and it is also important for the region in which we operate. I commend LNG train 5 to the Australian community and also the importance of the Pluto project.

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