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

I rise today to lament the atrocious effort of the Queensland government in representing the good people of Central Queensland. Central Queenslanders like myself want investment in jobs, exports, trade, economic roads and water infrastructure to build on what we already have to provide our children, our ageing population and our disabled with the services they need.

So it is hard for Central Queenslanders like me to understand the ALP's approach to these subjects. I refer to the Adani Carmichael coalmine, west of Emerald. The project promises a $16.5 billion boom to the economy and 10,000 jobs. Driving jobs, exports and infrastructure—that is what Adani is about. The Premier and the region's mayors visited India in March this year and they saw firsthand what Adani's world-class coalmines—like the ones to be built in Central Queensland and the Galilee Basin—will do to help those Indian people have electricity, which they do not have at the moment.

When I talk about water infrastructure, I also raise the case, as I did with the Prime Minister on Friday in Emerald, that in the late sixties and early seventies the Fairbairn dam was built. Since those days—and this would not have happened without water—$5.6 billion worth of exports have come out of that region. From a population of 31,000, this is a tremendous effort for that region. They are punching well above their weight in exports. Also, to have those exports, they need to import $3.5 billion into the Central Highlands area. So this keeps the economy on the move.

The Queensland government decided in the middle of these important negotiations on the decision to give the go-ahead to Adani to have a war between the Premier and the Deputy Premier. Jackie Trad has disagreed with the Premier on this occasion and this has brought disharmony and uncertainty to the Adani mine. No-one is going to invest $16.5 billion in a project they cannot get certainty on. So it is not hard to imagine why Adani has put the whole coalmine— (Time expired)