Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

In my electorate of Flynn, coal equals jobs and jobs equal growth. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change figures continue to show strong demand for high-quality Australian coal. We are seeing coal reclaim its place as a top exporter for Australia. It bypasses iron ore exports, which have been going well since 2010. But now coal is back on top. This is a great help to the Queensland budget and also to the New South Wales budget, which both reap huge royalties from this commodity.

The coal industry is a solid, dependable industry. Why aren't our four big banks and other banks supporting our strong, reliable coal industry? Are they taking the Greens' stance? Is that the answer? It's also providing many jobs in Flynn, and those people who work in the coal industry bank their money with these banks. The National Bank has arguably taken the strongest position in moving away from coal. Banks are happy to take wages from miners and staff of small businesses who rely on the coal industry but are not prepared to support the industry. The comments made by Westpac are nonsense. The banks are not supporting the coal industry. They're not supporting our economy, and they ought to have a good look at themselves.

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