Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. The Treasurer would be aware that nearly three-quarters of Australia’s exports of coal and base metal and consequently the country’s standard of living depends upon mining. The Treasurer would also be aware that 82 per cent of the world’s copper, 54 per cent of the world’s zinc and 46 per cent of the world’s lead is sourced from countries without an ETS burden and that Australia is in the top quartile of mining cost structures.

In light of the fact that electricity averages 25 per cent of all mining costs and since the proposed increases in electricity prices have been modelled by MMA for Treasury to be over 25½ per cent, and since the CPRS regime is now agreed to by the bulk of the LNP members from Queensland as well as the opposition, could the Treasurer assure the House that he will take action to see that competitively priced renewable energy will come on stream from his and Resources and Energy Minister Ferguson’s transmission line clean energy corridor initiative in Northern Australia?

Finally, can the Treasurer ensure that such actions will be taken as are necessary to ensure that these competitive prices will be passed on to the miners in north-west Queensland? Finally, in light of the government’s and opposition’s CPRS agreement, will the Treasurer open dialogue with Queensland to free up two per cent of the world’s answer: namely, the north-west Queensland uranium reserves, currently embargoed, in an indefensible restraint of trade, by the Queensland government?

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