Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I can certainly tell the shadow Treasurer that all of us on this side of the House are in favour of exporting coal. It seems like a common-sense thing to do. One of the reasons we need to put a price on carbon is to ensure that all of our industries, including our coal industry, can get access to international markets and also be competitive in international markets. That is the objective of everybody on the side of the House, but those opposite want to stick their heads in the sand because they are not capable of facing up to the really big decisions that we must make as a nation to ensure we remain competitive.

The coal industry is one of our most important industries. We on this side of the House are strong supporters of the coal industry. We understand that the coal industry, like so many of our other industries, must be competitive. That is why we need a price on carbon. As the rest of the world prices carbon and we do not, our industries and exports could face trade barriers. Of course, the one that would be most under threat from that would be the coal industry. I am optimistic about the future of our coal industry because we have some of the cleanest coal in the world. As the world moves to renewable energy it will still require traditional energy and our coal will be highly valued in that environment. In an environment where carbon is priced and where investment is driven to renewable energy there will still be a role for coal and a very big role for the Australian coal industry.

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