Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is directed to the Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism. What are the facts about the current state of the Australian coal industry and its future outlook and what is the response of the government to any claims to the contrary?

Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Resources and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hunter for his question because he, like this side of the House, understands that the Australian coal industry has an excellent future. That is very important for Australia because that is about jobs, exports and revenue. That importantly is related to our capacity to invest in a nation in fundamental government services such as education, health and child care.

Let us deal with a few facts because this goes to the heart of the matter. I firstly refer to the latest ABARES data estimates. They show a 24 per cent increase in export earnings from energy commodities in 2010-11 to $71 billion in 2011. They then suggest a further 25 per cent increase in 2011-12 to $89 billion; interestingly driven by thermal coal, up 31 per cent to $18.3 billion; and metallurgical coal up 31 per cent to $31.9 billion. I understand economic figures bore the Leader of the Opposition, because they actually tell the real story.

In terms of future expansion of the industry, it even looks brighter—a forecast increase in exploration expenditure on coal of 12 per cent. We are, and we will continue to be, the world's largest exporter of coal and so we should be. Prices are high and there is significant investment in Australia. It is our responsibility to grab these economic opportunities whilst they are there for Australia to grab.

Just think about this: metallurgical coal prices have seen recent historic highs at $330 a tonne, thermal coal prices reached a record $131 a tonne, and the Leader of the Opposition wants to talk down the future of the coal industry in Australia that is not only economically significant to the nation at large but very significant to the economic opportunities in a range of key regions in many states and territories of Australia. I compare those prices to 10 years ago: in terms of coking coal, $50 a tonne—a sixth of what they are today; and thermal coal worth around $7 billion—a third of their predicted value today. You can see why this industry is important to Australia. Predictions are that these prices will continue and, more importantly, the pipeline of investment shows a huge potential expansion not only in the coal industry historically, in Australia, in areas such as the Hunter and the Bowen Basin but in the creation of a whole new coal corridor in the Galilee Basin, with a huge growth in demand out of India and potentially two major Indian investments in the coal industry in the Galilee Basin in Australia.

This is about real jobs in Australia. It is about our resource and energy sectors driving our future and they will continue to expand. Just think about the expansion of jobs. The expansion of this industry is creating new jobs. The mining industry took on an extra 35,200 workers in the year to May of this year. From our point of view, the government understands the importance of the coal industry. It also accepts that it has a very bright future. This is about jobs, exports and revenues, and it is about our capacity as a nation to look after the broader Australian community and to invest in services such as health, education and child care. We do not find economics boring—the Leader of the Opposition might—because this is fundam­ental to our economy. Start talking about the coal industry's bright future from the Leader of the Opposition's point of view rather than talking down investment and jobs in Aust­ralia.