Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

During COVID, when the nation largely shut down, there were two sectors in particular that kept the lights on, kept exports going and kept our nation's economy afloat. They were agriculture and resources. All too often in this place—and elsewhere, for that matter—the resources sector is demonised, particularly by those opposite. Whilst I appreciate that the Minister for Resources, the member for Brand, made a statement on resources, which was an important speech, and whilst she talks up the resources sector in question time—and good on her for that—there's not a lot of solidarity amongst those opposite who talk out of one side of their mouth about the resources sector in this place and talk out the other side of their mouth whenever they are talking about it to constituents in their electorates.

I do not earnestly believe that those opposite understand what role digging things up out of the ground truly plays in our country. But don't just take my word for it. Tania Constable, Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Council, said on 9 February this year:

Mining continues to support jobs, the economy and government spending on essential services during difficult times for Australian families.

Trade data for 2022 reveals record export revenue which will generate substantial tax and royalty returns, higher wages and strong regional communities.

She talked about the country areas that would, but for the resources sector, be largely ghost towns. Kanowna—a little place in Western Australia not far from a major Western Australian resource capital, which the member for O'Connor proudly represents—is indeed now a ghost town. A hundred years ago it was a thriving place. Once the resources were exhausted in Kanowna, the people went away and the town became a place with nothing more than tumbleweeds rolling down the once-paved streets. What we don't want to see under those opposite is policies that are going to lead to many more once-vibrant resource towns become nothing but places for tumbleweeds blowing down what were once busy main streets.

We want to see our resources sector continue to employ hundreds of thousands of people. Indeed, the resources sector directly employs more than 270,000 Australians. Its indirect employment is more than 700,000, over and above those numbers of full-time equivalents. The sector paid more than $37.2 billion in wages and salaries last year. That's straight into Australian households. That's straight into the pockets of hardworking Australians. Even those in capital cities enjoy the benefits of having a strong resources sector. You can often find many of them at protests against the resources sector. You can often find many of them outside the confines of this place on any given sitting day protesting about coal and gas, protesting about the very industry that keeps their lights on and keeps their coffee percolator boiling of a morning.

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