Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and Minister for Industry and Innovation. Will the minister update the House on the economic outlook for the minerals industry with the introduction of the carbon price? Will the minister also advise the House: are there any recent investment decisions that the House should be aware of? Why is it important that facts drive the debate about the future of the industry?

Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my colleague from Lake Macquarie and the Hunter region, the member for Shortland, for her question, because we represent an area that is very important in the resources sector, and the fact of the matter is that the resources sector, the minerals industry, is set to prosper under the carbon price.

Last night I had the opportunity at the Minerals Council dinner to sit next to an executive of Peabody Coal, who updated me on the company's $5 billion takeover of Macarthur Coal. That is the takeover that humiliated the opposition leader, because it was announced the day after he visited a Peabody coalmine and declared that carbon pricing would destroy the coal industry. The very next day Peabody announced a $5 billion takeover. His precise words about the future of the industry were: 'A carbon tax means death to the coal industry.' Yet the trouble is, the coal and minerals industries are experiencing record growth. The Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics has reported that there is over $500 billion worth of capital expenditure in the investment pipeline.

Since the carbon price was announced, we have seen multibillion dollar takeovers, massive investment and new mine approvals. It is not just big companies that are investing; it is also many small investors—

Mr Dutton interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Dickson is warned!

Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

including many members of parliament who have a lot of confidence in the future of the industry. In fact, since the carbon price was announced last February, and the start of the opposition leader's people's revolt started, many coalition MPs have actually bought shares in the industry. Now, the member for Wentworth is amongst them, but we would respect that because he knows the campaign run by the opposition leader is complete and utter rubbish, nonsense, false, a fraud and a fabrication. But it does include the members for Brisbane, Flynn, Stirling, Fadden, Bennelong and Kooyong. Not only that, when you have a look at the register, all up about 30 per cent of the members of the coalition are investors in the minerals industry. That is quite a few. We are sure of one thing: it does not show much faith in the member for Warringah's investment advice, does it?

Publicly, their leader talks mining stocks down; privately, they snap up the investments. There might be a little insider trading strategy going on, but it demonstrates hypocrisy. If there were a TV reality show, Australia's Greatest Hypocrites, they would be the winners.