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

If there are two things the people of Central and North Queensland want, they are more jobs and a reduction in power prices. These are essential things. They not only want jobs; they want job security in the post mining boom world. They want to know they can pay their bills to keep the lights on and keep the air conditioning running, particularly during the North Queensland summer. One of the keys to achieving both of these goals is to build a high-efficiency, low-emission—HELE—coal-fired power plant in North Queensland. Support for a clean, coal-fired power station is high. The Townsville Bulletin conducted a poll last month in which 79 per cent of respondents supported the idea of building a HELE coal-fired power plant in North Queensland. This is backed up by findings of a NSW Minerals Council poll where 64 per cent of 1,000 respondents were in favour of a HELE power plant.

We have abundant coal in Queensland, and a HELE coal-fired power station constructed at the mouth of a coalmine would be extremely cost-efficient and it would avoid transmission losses that occur when power is sent from the southern parts of Queensland up to the north of the state. It would also deliver jobs in construction and more jobs in the industries that flourish with affordable and reliable power—jobs also during the operational phase. Central and North Queensland is home to some of the largest and best-quality coal reserves in the world. That coal is currently being exported to other countries around the world for making steel; also for generating electricity with HELE technology.

HELE generators produce up to 50 per cent fewer emissions. More than a thousand of these generators have already been built or are under construction around the world, predominantly in China and India. North Queensland is a perfect location for Australia to build its first. Industries in the north pay an exorbitant price for electricity because so much power is lost transmitting over long distances. Building a generator at the mouth of a greenfield coalmine in North Queensland makes economic sense, cutting transport costs to the generator and reducing losses from long-distance transmission.

Some years ago, Townsville Enterprise Ltd commissioned a report—that was funded by the Gillard Labor government—titled Base Load Power in North Queensland & The Dalrymple Agricultural Scheme. It noted the need for additional capacity and found that a major coal-fired power station would put downward pressure on electricity prices in the north, with a potential $838 million social cost-benefit gain.

People are more interested in affordables than renewables. That's why I've been fighting for a clean, coal-fired power station in the north for the past 12 months, and I will continue to do so. My message to Canberra, to both the government and the opposition is this: we need to power the north. We need to power the north by lowering power prices and by creating jobs. We can do that by building a clean, coal-fired power station in North Queensland. I urge the government and I urge the opposition to support powering the north.