Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Who knows? Last night during the adjournment debate in the House I tabled some documents in relation to a statutory declaration. I inadvertently overlooked tabling the additional supporting documents and I seek leave now to table those additional documents.

Leave granted.

In the debate on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and the ETS there will be a continuing realisation about how they might affect various sectors of the economy. Whilst the opposition negotiated in good faith with the government, and certainly the government negotiated in good faith with the opposition, and whilst many very significant amendments were accepted by the government, there will still be people who will find themselves in some difficulty. I believe that where we find instances of difficulty, where there is a local interest, an Australian interest or a national interest to protect those businesses that may well be harshly affected, we need a mechanism to address that. I will give you an example. In my electorate we have the Yabulu nickel refinery. It was only six months ago that it came within 12 hours of being closed because BHP Billiton, the operators and owners of the refinery, decided that they did not want to be in the nickel business any longer. But Clive Palmer and his group came through and rescued the refinery, much to the relief of the City of Townsville. The Yabulu refinery employs about 1,200 people and, of course, there is the flow-on effect of the businesses that support it. It is a very significant employer and a very important asset to our city.

The General Manager, Neil Meadows, overnight indicated that he believes the refinery will suffer difficulty under the ETS. I encourage him to engage with the government and put his case as to what the impact might be, because nobody wants to see—and I do not even believe the government does—the Yabulu nickel refinery under threat. We do not want to see that refinery closed. It is too important to our economy in the north and too important to our country in terms of exports.

The price of nickel goes up and down in a cyclical way. It is very difficult for people in that industry. There are good times and bad times. It is currently not a good time. When the Prime Minister comes to my electorate—on I think 8 December—our community will speak to him about the need to protect those jobs, about the need to protect Yabulu and the need to make sure that it continues.

It is frightening for families when they see before Christmas that their jobs and their family income might be under threat. No time of the year is a good time to think you might lose your job, but it is particularly difficult in the festive season. My message to the employees of Yabulu is: it is not yet time to have those worries because this has a long time to play out. It gives community leaders, operators of the refinery and the government time to address the issues facing Yabulu and to get a good outcome. It is vital that we get the right outcome for the families and for the business to continue to operate in a secure and stable way. After all, we need that certainty for our families and workers. I will be doing everything I can for my community and those employees to make sure that Yabulu remains open.

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