Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Trade. Would the minister advise the House how infrastructure constraints are impacting on Australia’s export performance?  Is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can assure the honourable member for Hinkler that I am aware of reports of considerable constraints in the handling capabilities which are limiting Australia’s capacity to export coal around the world. In fact, the Prime Minister mentioned earlier in question time that the April balance of trade figures have just been released and they reflect a very significant improvement. We are very pleased that there has been this substantial reduction in our trade deficit for the month of April. But, in spite of the general improvement, there was one commodity where there was yet another decline—that is, the export of coal. It is shameful that a this time when the world is crying out for our coal reserves, when prices are high and when there are enormous opportunities around the world that our coal exports actually fell by three per cent last month. The reason for this fall was the constraints within the delivery system at the ports, but particularly on the rail lines.

The Australian, in an editorial, drew attention to this problem early in the week when it made it clear that the problem is that the state owned railways, which are supposed to deliver the cargo, are not up to it. Just five months into the year it already appears that the volume of coal shipped by Queensland Rail in 2007 will be 15 per cent less than the figure decided last November, at a time when we are wanting to export more coal. The following day, the Australian identified one of the problems when it pointed to the hundreds of wagons previously used to export coal that are lying idle around Queensland. It published a photograph of 200 wagons which are lying on a branch line near Murgon in my own electorate. I can vouch for the fact that those wagons are there. But what the Australian did not actually say was that these wagons are actually located on an abandoned branch line which has not taken a train for probably a decade. Its only link to the main rail system is another branch line that has been mothballed by the Queensland government. It carries no trains at all. So here we have hundreds of coal wagons that could potentially be used to ship coal, which would cost perhaps $1 billion to replace, lying—

Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I cannot hear the minister’s response.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The level of noise is far too high. The member raises a valid point of order.

Kerry Bartlett (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order under standing order 91. Members of the frontbench opposite continue to stand when a minister on this side is giving an answer. I ask you to bring them to order.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Chief Government Whip. I remind all members of standing order 62. I call the Minister for Trade.

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have hundreds of coal wagons on an abandoned spur line, connected to the rail system by a mothballed railway line. This is an asset that could be doing something worth while to help improve the performance of Queensland’s rail lines. These lines were once the pride of Australia’s national rail system. Queensland was the first to introduce multiheaded trains and electrified bulk cargo, and it did an enormous amount to open up Central Queensland and the coalmines to the export markets of the world. But, in reality, under Labor this system has been allowed to just drift away. When Premier Beattie was confronted with the fact that his performance—the failure of Queensland Rail to do its job—was costing this nation perhaps $1 billion a year in lost revenue, he blamed the coal companies. It was all their fault: the coal companies are greedy, because they want to export more; they want to earn more export dollars. Here is Premier Beattie taking $1 billion a year in royalties from coal exports from Australia, yet he cannot keep the trains running. They are trains that could be delivering cash into the indebted Queensland government coffers but are stopped because the Labor government cannot keep the system operating, enabling our coal exports to achieve their potential. This illustrates and proves yet again: if you give something to Labor in good working order, it will not be long before it is broken.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.