Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While thousands of kilometres apart, the people of Central Queensland felt a sense of kinship with Whyalla, all thanks to an Indian company. Earlier this month, Adani announced that the steel required to build the Carmichael rail line will come from Whyalla. And I hope the people of Whyalla could hear the cheers from Rockhampton, the cheers from Middlemount and the cheers from Nebo. I hope they could hear the cheers from every mining town in Australia—towns where the hard earned sweat of remote and struggling families proffer state budgets through royalties; towns where basic services taken for granted in cities are hard to come by and often at a greater cost.

It is the people of these towns who cheered for Whyalla. The cheers have drowned out the cries of those in inner city suburbs who enjoy the fruits of regional Australia's labour. They get built pretty things and get to go to their secure jobs on efficient public transport. They come home and pour a nice glass of wine, which also comes from the work of regional Australia. They jump on their tablet also assembled from the resources of regional Australia and begin their keyboard rant to stop production of all the luxuries they take for granted daily.

They ranted about a quest to supply developing nations with the electricity they use every day. They raved about the coal that would destroy the environment, even though their own lifestyles exist because of it. And when that did not work, they cried foul over a foreign company who was going to steal Australian jobs and rob Australia of a future. They turned Adani into the fruit of all evils.

Well, I am happy to say you were mistaken and you have been proven wrong. You were wrong about Adani's commitment to renewables. You have misled Australians on what this project will do to the Great Barrier Reef. You were wrong about who they were going to employ. And you are wrong about who is going to benefit.

The people of Whyalla were not the only winners earlier this month. Adani has also delivered an $82 million contract for Rockhampton. Rockhampton company Austrak will fill a contract worth more than $82 million to supply concrete sleepers to Adani Australia for the Carmichael mine project's rail line. The deal will see Austrak triple its workforce to more than 80 and generate up to 30 supply chain jobs, and provide job security for the two-year life of the contract.

Adani promised that regional Queenslanders would benefit from the project and they have now proven that they honour their promises and care about regional Australia. It is a sad state of affairs when a foreign company does more for regional workers than the supposed party of the workers. The federal coalition has consistently advocated for the Carmichael mine and the 388-kilometre km rail line that will deliver much needed jobs for Central Queensland.

We consistently spoke to the truth and the facts. Labor, the Greens and the fearmongering GetUp speculated, cajoled and bullied. The fact is that the Carmichael mine is 300 kilometres inland in a dry, dusty part of Queensland. It is one of a number of potential mines in this country that has the capacity to employ thousands of Australians.

Our government has put in place 36 of the strictest environmental conditions. We have implemented the recommendations of the independent expert scientific committee which provided advice to the government on the Carmichael mine. We have balanced jobs and investment creation with environmental protection.

While our inner city neighbours may not care for our livelihoods, we will continue to believe in delivering the life you are accustomed to. We know that the export dollars from our labours support the nation's economy. We know that the people outside major cities deserve the prospect of further employment and prosperity. And we know that, if countries like India do not use coal from the Galilee Basin, they are just going to buy it from Indonesia or other places that will get the jobs and the money that would otherwise come to Australia.

I wish to end by thanking my colleagues, particularly those in marginal seats. Thank you for not bowing to pressure to put the hypocrisy of inner-city greens before the needs of regional Australia, and the people in my electorate of Capricornia. (Time expired)

House adjourned at 20:01