George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The communities of Mackay, Bowen and throughout Central and North Queensland welcome the announcements by the Prime Minister and the Attorney-General that the government will repeal section 487(2) of the EPBC Act to end the ongoing warfare being waged by extreme green groups against major job-creating developments in the north. The recent setback with the Carmichael mine has alarmed many eager job seekers and business owners in the region who were looking at the opening up of the Galilee Basin and the expansion of the port of Abbot Point as a shot in the arm for our local economies. The successful green challenge against the mine approval has been devastating for them. It has gone from being like a shot in the arm to being like a shot to the head. The project is being reassessed and, given that nothing has changed, I assume that we will have the approval issued. But the mine will again be held up in the courts for the better part of two years if nothing is done about the ongoing litigation campaign by the extreme greens.

The Liberal-National government is proposing a way forward: restrict legal objections to only those directly impacted by a development. And here is the challenge for Labor: will you support our moves to secure jobs and opportunities for workers or will you support your green mates who want to see an end to coalmining? Make no mistake, we in the Liberal-National coalition have chosen a side: we are on the side of Aussie jobs; we are on the side of Aussie workers.