Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My Question is to the Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia. As you are aware, my electorate of Flynn is home to some of Australia's most significant resources and energy projects. In particular, a number of major LNG projects in Gladstone. I speak with the constituents and the community leaders almost every day about the importance of this vital sector. Would you please update the House on how the investment in the Australian resources and energy sector is creating jobs, growth and opportunities for the constituents in my electorate of Flynn?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Flynn, who has been a fantastic advocate for the resources and energy sector ever since he won a seat from the Labor party, in 2010. It was terrific to join the member for Flynn, the member for Capricornia and Senator Canavan at the Fitzroy Water Forum in Queensland recently to discuss a number of potential water projects which I know the minister is focused on—Connors River Dam, Nathan Dam, the Eden Bann and the Rookwood weirs.

It is in energy and resources that the member for Flynn's electorate is making its greatest contribution to the Australian economy. In his electorate there are three world leading LNG projects: Gladstone LNG, Australia Pacific LNG and Queensland Curtis LNG. Together this has seen an investment of more than $60 billion from some of the biggest companies in the world, including Conoco, BG, Petronas and Kogas and others. Those three projects will produce $15 billion worth of export income every year, and, over the life of these projects, a remarkable half a trillion dollars—half a trillion dollars in export income will be created. More than 15,000 jobs in construction and thousands of other jobs will have been created once these projects are up and running.

In terms of supporting the local economy, some $5 billion ever year is supporting more than 2½ thousand local businesses in the electorate of Flynn, like the company MIPEC, a local ship repair company helping to repair ships in Gladstone Harbour. With the support of the electorate of Flynn and these major projects, Australia will become the world's largest LNG exporter in the world by 2020. But Flynn is also part of the—

Ms Owens interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Parramatta is warned.

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

fantastic coal production story that we see in Australia—this is coal coming out of the Bowen Basin—employing 3½ thousand people directly and thousands more indirectly: the Blackwater coalmine, the Rolleston coalmine and the Callide coalmine. This is good news for people from Gladstone to Taroom, from Blackwater to Mount Morgan and from Emerald to Rolleston, because when the energy and resources sector is doing well in Australia the people of Flynn are doing well.