Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism. Will the minister update the House about the BHP Olympic Dam decision and Australia's pipeline of resources investment?

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

I thank the member for Hindmarsh for his question. As a proud South Australian—unlike the Manager of Opposition Business, the member for Sturt—the last thing he would do is talk down the South Australian economy. Let us be clear—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: as a fifth-generation South Australian, I demand that the minister withdraw that slur on me and my family.

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

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The minister has the call. To assist the chamber, I was going to ask him to withdraw.

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

I withdraw the reflection. Let us be frank, Olympic Dam is not lost to Australia. The decision of BHP Billiton yesterday was a commercial decision. They have clearly indicated that, in terms of the South Australian and Australian governments, they could not have asked for more. Every regulatory approval was in place. This was a potential investment of $30 billion, almost twice the outlays of the South Australian government each year in terms of its budget. BHP Billiton must get this project right.

Let us have a frank talk about where Australia is at. In every resources boom there are two opportunities. First, there is the benefit of record commodity prices—and we have had that as a nation. The second and most important opportunity is attracting and implementing a pipeline of investment of $270 billion. The Australian community is proud of that. The only person who was very, very pleased with the Olympic Dam decision not going ahead in the immediate future yesterday was the Leader of the Opposition.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: it is offensive to be accused of taking pleasure in this, and the minister should withdraw.

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

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The minister has the call—and, for the benefit of the House, will withdraw.

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

To assist the House, Madam Deputy Speaker, we will do a few facts. The $270 million is a great achievement.

Opposition members interjecting—

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

He has withdrawn.

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

Yes, I have withdrawn. The facts hurt.

Mr Briggs interjecting—

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

Order! The member for Mayo is warned.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: it is offensive to be accused of taking pleasure in what has been a tragedy for the people of South Australia.

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

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The minister has the call.

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

The facts speak for themselves—$270 billion, an ongoing pipeline of investment, creating wealth for Australia and, perhaps more importantly, creating real jobs for Australia. Let us think about these opportunities. Up at Gladstone, in the hinterland, there is a $55 billion investment under construction at the moment—12,000 jobs. We are proud of that achievement. Let us go to Gorgon, on Barrow Island—a $43 billion investment, with 4,000 jobs in construction. Think about the multiplier impact on the rest of the Australian economy—marine services, aviation, legal services, financial services, cleaning and catering.

The difference on this occasion is that we have got a pipeline of investment on an ongoing basis. The opposition, when it was last in government, merely spent a free kick from record commodity prices. Two opportunities—commodity prices and a pipeline of investment—and we achieved both. The Australian community is delighted at us spreading the benefits of this boom, not only in terms of what we are doing in infrastructure and skilling but also creating real long-lasting jobs. We are proud of it and it is about time the Leader of the Opposition was honest. He is very, very pleased with the setback with Olympic Dam yesterday.

Mr Hockey interjecting—

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

The member for North Sydney is warned—that was totally inappropriate behaviour.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to the statement in London just nine weeks ago by the chief executive of Glencore, the biggest commodities trading company in the world. He said:

… Australia does have its risk, yes. We saw the carbon tax, we saw the mineral resource tax.

Does the Treasurer seriously expect Australians to believe that the government's tax policies have no impact on the investment decisions of BHP and other resource companies?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do thank the shadow Treasurer for his question, because it gives me an opportunity to build on the answer that has been given by the resources minister. The facts do not match the critique and they do not match all of the talking down of our economy that we are seeing from the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Treasurer and the shadow finance minister. They should be ashamed of what they have done—talking down our economy—because, as the resources minister has pointed out very clearly, we have a record pipeline of investment in the resources sector. There is nothing announced by BHP yesterday which indicates anything of the sort that was just raised by the shadow Treasurer. This is what the head of BHP said yesterday:

The South Australian Government, the Federal Government and all of the agencies that have worked with us to make this a reality have been absolutely wonderful partners and I can't put that in more strong terms …

That was Mr Kloppers yesterday. He went on to say: 'The tax environment for this particular project has not changed at all. The MRRT only covers coal and iron ore, not copper, not gold, not uranium. The tax environment has not changed since we started working on this six or seven years ago.' That is what Mr Kloppers has said. What we have is a record pipeline of investment in resources—an additional $90 billion in the past year alone and, as the resources minister said, $270 billion at the advanced stage. What do we get? We get the continual trashing of our economy by those opposite to hide their embarrassment at the fact that there is a $70 billion crater—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker: I referred to the CEO of Glencore, the biggest trading company in the world and one of the largest miners who said:

… Australia does have its risk, yes. We saw the carbon tax, we saw the mineral resource tax.

I ask him to answer the question.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was making this point very clearly: that since we announced both a carbon price and a resource rent tax, investment has gone through the roof. That is the truth of it. The decision that has been taken by BHP on Olympic Dam has been taken for entirely commercial purposes and it has absolutely nothing to do with carbon pricing or the MRRT. But for their own base political purposes there is nothing they will not do to talk down our economy. They do it day in, day out, and they demonstrate how unfit they are to be an alternative government.