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

Today I want to talk about the Queensland black coal industry. Queensland has a rich and enviable history when it comes to black coal. Blair Athol, probably one of the oldest coalmines in central Queensland, announced only this week that it would reopen in Blair Athol, near Clermont, after it closed in 2012 because of the low prices. I have to report today that the demand is up and of course the prices are up, making that coalmine viable again.

Central Queensland has some of the largest coal deposits in the world. They are low-ash, high-quality coking and thermal coal. Coking coal, of course, is used in the manufacture of steel, while thermal coal is used in power production. The Galilee Basin, the Bowen Basin and the Surat Basin employ tens of thousands of Queenslanders and support many other jobs, direct and indirect.

The Queensland government, with its reckless energy policy, has put the coal industry under pressure, forcing electricity prices up, and of course jobs are at risk. The Queensland Labor government wants to place this history as an international leader in supply and production of coal at risk. When you have a government that wants to achieve 50 per cent renewables by 2030, when at the moment it only has renewable energy representing four per cent of the market, you know that a task is well and truly ahead of it. What happens if they do happen to achieve this 50 per cent renewable energy? How will they supply the other 50 per cent? This is the question. We've got eight coal-fired power stations in Queensland. Their lifetime ambitions will only last about another 10 or 12 years, so we need to start planning now for more HELE coal-fired power stations in Central Queensland.

Mining jobs, whether they be above ground or underground, support jobs in the freight industry at the ports of Gladstone, Mackay and Hay Point, as well as jobs in rail, maintenance, service industries, IT and electronics. They supply well-paying jobs to Central Queensland. So it's very important that the coal industry survives and thrives into the future. The Labor government needs to focus on this as part of an ongoing plan and for cheap, good energy.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further constituency statements by honourable members, the next item of business will be called on.