Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to present a petition from a number of my constituents in the electorate of Farrer regarding Adani's Carmichael mine proposal. This is a very important and emotional issue for many of them. As their local member in this place, I respect their views, their right to have those views and to express them, as they have to me, very forcefully, so I table the petition in the parliament today.

I take this opportunity to make a few comments around this issue. There's a wide difference in positions about whether our country should continue to produce fossil fuels. Some say we should ban the production of coal altogether. Our government's position on this is pretty clear. We cannot even consider this sort of path until alternative forms of baseload power have become part of the mix and are included in a product that is affordable and reliable for Australian households and businesses. As members of parliament, we have to look at all of the facts in front of us, consider them carefully and then make a decision. As members of the Liberal-National coalition, we also need to be careful before imposing the dead hand of authority simply because we might have the power to do so. So here are the facts. The board of a private company, Adani, has given the green light to pursue options of mining coal for its own domestic use in India from Australia's Carmichael mine. It's estimated that this project could create over 11,000 jobs and inject millions of dollars into the Queensland communities of Rockhampton and Townsville. Australian coal is high quality and creates lower emissions for the planet than comparable coal.

One of the questions I ask the opponents of Adani who come to see me is this: if the company doesn't use our country's natural resources and they simply go elsewhere, mining a much dirtier coal in a much less reliable jurisdiction, how much more damaging to the environment would this be? And how do they feel about that issue? Make no mistake: if we don't fill the market internationally with our coal exports, then another country in our region or in the rest of the world certainly will. The Labor Party—both in Queensland and, it would seem, here in Canberra—have turned their backs on Australian workers, vetoing any government support. You may not like our position, but at least we are consistent.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 10:29 to 11:16

See this speech in context