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

I thank the member for Moreton for his question. I echo what the Treasurer said today: long and enduring tax reform has never come easy to Australia. I simply say that our government is not going to walk away from this very tough debate, because it is a debate the nation has to have. This debate is about our long-term national interest. We also appreciate in that context that we are seriously engaged in a proper process of consultation. We are absolutely committed to getting the balance right, based on ensuring an ongoing stream of investment in Australia akin to what we have achieved over the last 2½ years, as evidenced by the Gorgon investment, and ensuring that the Australian community gets a fair share of the opportunity to develop its resources. I compare that to the position of the opposition at the moment. Also, I remind the House that one of the key outcomes of this debate is a capacity to further invest in the infrastructure requirements of the resources sector in Australia—something that the opposition neglected for 12½ years. A prime example is that, for the first time ever, we will have, in forthcoming budgets, a line item going to investment in resource communities in Australia—initially, $700 million in 2012-13; an amount of $5.6 billion over the decade.

We are in catch-up mode because of the failure of the opposition to invest during their period in government in key resource infrastructure projects. The bottlenecks that they left unattended effectively meant that we lost market share over the previous decade and lived off the back of commodity prices. They were content to spend the proceeds of the mining industry boom but not willing to invest in our future opportunities. I was therefore not surprised to see the ongoing campaign of misinformation yesterday by the stand-in opposition spokesperson, Mr Clive Palmer, claiming that the resources industry is paying 70 per cent tax. That is an outrageous claim, even from Mr Palmer—and we all appreciate what a colourful character he is, better known for his real estate activities than for his mining capacity.

The opposition might be content to stand side by side with Mr Palmer, but we are going to continue the debate that goes to the primary focus of our capacity to ensure the long-term sustainability of the resources sector to invest in key projects related to port, rail and road infrastructure. I compare our performance over 2½ years with the opposition’s performance over 12½ years. Let us go to the state of Western Australia: $339 million invested in the Oakajee project, something that the Western Australian Premier asked us to commit to, and another $40 million in the port of Esperance, which was a major problem in the previous parliament. Northern Australia is so important to the resources sector: investment in the further development of the Darwin port, $50 million; the Australian Rail Track Corporation, $1.2 billion, including key investments in the Kalgoorlie corridor in Western Australia; the Perth urban transport corridor, $350 million; and the upgrade of the Port Hedland roadworks, $160 million—an area historically absolutely neglected by the opposition under the AusLink program—under AusLink 1.

We also appreciate that the impact of resources activity does not extend only to resources communities. That is why I was delighted to notice a commitment today by the Commonwealth government of $180 million to a $225 million project in the heart of the city of Perth. The Great Eastern Highway is to be expanded to six lanes between Perth Airport and Graham Farmer Freeway, something that is so important to Perth. The impact of the resources boom is not just on regional communities; it is also on our major capital cities. Compare that key resource investment in the city of Perth with the previous government’s preoccupation with approving a brickworks at Perth Airport for a key donor rather than doing something about huge delays at Perth Airport that increase the cost of conducting mining industry activities in Australia.

It is not just government that is investing in key infrastructure. I also welcome the announcement last week by the Queensland Coal Industry Rail Group to commit $4.85 billion to seek the purchase of the coal corridors in Queensland, which is also exceptionally important. It is not just the initial commitment of $4.85 billion; it is going to mean another couple of billion dollars over the next couple of years to make sure we front up for the necessary maintenance and capital expansion of the Queensland rail corridor. The industry, despite the rhetoric that is currently out there in the community, understands that the coal industry in Australia is going to expand.

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