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

I move:

that this House recognises that:

(1) the Australian Labor Party has abandoned workers in Queensland, to chase Green votes in Victoria;

(2) Opposition Leader Bill Shorten:

(a) tells workers in Queensland he is pro coal, and in Victoria that he is against it; and

(b) promised green activist Geoff Cousins that he would tear up the approvals for the Adani Carmichael mine;

(3) the opening up of the Galilee Basin has the potential to create over 16,000 jobs in Queensland;

(4) the Australian Labor Party is gambling with the integrity of Australia and has created a sovereign risk; and

(5) Australia should utilise its natural resources and encourage investment in our mining sector to create much needed jobs for regional areas.

Not since Benedict Arnold has there been a betrayal as blatant and cutting as Labor's abandonment of the working man and woman. Benedict Arnold became the shining American symbol of treason after he switched sides and led the British into battle against the very soldiers he had previously commanded—but the British struggled to trust him. Just as traitorous is a Labor Party that has stopped fighting for workers and has gone to join the job-destroying Green socialists. But even the far, far left struggles to trust Labor's shifty leader. The workers in this country are badly in need of support, as they are being denied great opportunities to put bread on the table, to get ahead and to give their families a future.

The Carmichael coal project, more than 300 kilometres and a mountain range away from the coastline, and even further away from the Great Barrier Reef, is waiting to create 10,000 jobs. The proponents already employ 800 people. The project will contribute billions of dollars in royalties to the Queensland government. As expected, the Carmichael coalmine enjoys widespread support across North Queensland and Central Queensland from industry groups, local mayors—including Labor-leading mayors—and mums and dads who want to earn a living in communities that will be directly affected by that project. North Queenslanders who don't support the project are principally the extreme Green groups and Labor MPs.

Actual members of the Labor Party support the Carmichael coal project because their livelihoods depend on mining and industry as well. But when those rank and file Labor members send their MPs to Canberra or to Brisbane, those MPs suddenly lose their voice and their spine. They stop supporting Central and North Queensland because their party leaders, based in capital cities, seize the political opportunity to sell out jobs and miners in North and Central Queensland. The state Labor government has feigned support for as long as it could for this project, has finally come out against it and has promised to reject any federal government financing facility offering the very help that the Queensland government had previously requested.

The final nail in the coffin for miners in mining communities was when their shifty leader dumped any and all support for miners to prevent losing the Batman by-election to the Greens. When he's in Queensland, the shifty Leader of the Opposition tries to create the illusion that he supports the coal industry, which is the opposite of what he says in his home state of Victoria and exactly the opposite of what he told the former president of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Geoff Cousins, on his Green activist funded tour of North Queensland. While enjoying a $17,000 holiday, including a reef cruise and scenic flights around North Queensland at the expense of the greenies, the Labor leader met with the foundation's former president. In that meeting, the shifty Leader of the Labour Party promised to withdraw his party's support for jobs that would be created by the Carmichael mine. Only when he was about to be outed by the media did that Leader of the Opposition make a shifty update to the members' registers of interests to declare his activist-funded holiday. Whether induced by that free trip or not, The Leader of the Opposition kept his promise to the extreme Greens and pulled all Labor support for jobs when it looked like the Greens might beat their star candidate in the Batman by-election and so now North Queensland is at this crossroads.

After suffering four years of downturn or more in the resources sector, economic prosperity is there and there is more on the horizon. It is within reach. The Adani project is just the first cab off the rank when it comes to opening up the Galilee Basin. Waiting in the wings are several other projects, including the Alpha North coalmine, twice the size of the Carmichael mine. The Galilee Basin stands to create more than 16,000 direct jobs and tens of billions of dollars in royalties. What stands in the way is more than just a traditional collection of radical ratbags opposing any development anywhere at any cost. Miners and families whose livelihoods depend on the mining industry, on coal ports, on other industries that rely on coal now face a wall of extremism from the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Greenpeace and GetUp!, which are all queuing up to plunge their knife into the workers, like the Roman senators assassinating Julius Caesar. As the Labor Party sink their blade under the blue collar of the honest workers of North Queensland and Central Queensland, they may feel the ultimate betrayal just like Julius Caesar did. But instead of asking, 'Et tu, Brute?', they're asking, 'Even you, shifty Shorten?'

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You will withdraw that comment.

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

I withdraw 'even you, shifty Leader of the Opposition'.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do you withdraw unreservedly?

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

I withdraw unreservedly.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is it seconded?

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

I second the motion.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the member for Capricornia reserve her right to speak?

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

I reserve my right to speak.

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have got to hand it to the member for Dawson. He must have a hide like a rhinoceros to come in here and move a motion like that after the budget that his side handed down. He talks about the abandonment of workers in Central and North Queensland. That's exactly what this budget did. There's nothing in the budget for the workers of Central and North Queensland. It's almost like the further you live away from the Prime Minister's mansion on Sydney Harbour, the less you got in this budget out of this government, because those workers got nothing out of this budget. All they got was cuts—cuts to schools, cuts to hospitals, cuts to universities, cuts to TAFE.

Here are the facts. They're ripping $100 million out of schools from Gladstone to Cape York. They've pulled $32 million out of hospitals in Central and North Queensland. They've taken $38 million from Central Queensland University and $36 million from James Cook University. And, on top of that, they're taking $270 million out of TAFE in this budget alone. In the last five years, the government have ripped $3 billion out of TAFE, and they've got the hide to come in here and talk about the abandonment of workers.

They talk about abandoning workers. Who do you think trains workers? TAFE—and they're ripping $270 million out of it. They're ripping the guts out of it in this budget. And what do you get as a result of that? There are 9,000 fewer apprentices currently training in Central and North Queensland because of their cuts to TAFE. On top of that, there are 36,000 people in Central and North Queensland today who work earning penalty rates, people who potentially are earning less today than they were last year because the government wouldn't step in to stop them getting their penalty rates cut.

They talk tough. They come in here and talk tough about jobs. But in reality they're about as useless as an ashtray on a motorbike. They do nothing when it comes to supporting the people they purport to represent. There is nothing for them in this budget. There are 40,000 people in Central and North Queensland who don't have a job at the moment, people who are struggling to pay the bills, struggling to pay the rent, struggling to pay their mortgage, and one mine is not going to employ all of them.

We need a lot more projects than that if we're going to get the economic development we need and if we're going to get those people jobs. We need things like widening the channel to expand the port of Townsville, building Rookwood Weir, extending the port access road in Gladstone, building the flood levee in Rocky, building the next stage of the Mackay Ring Road, extending the Bruce Highway in Cairns up to Cairns Airport, upgrading the Rockhampton to Yeppoon road, installing hydropower at the Burdekin or making sure that Townsville's got the water it needs for decades to come. But there's none of this in this budget.

And here's the biggest kick in the guts. Three years ago, to much fanfare, they announced the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, five billion bucks to invest in infrastructure in the north, and guess what? Three years later, not one cent has been invested in an infrastructure project yet in Queensland—three wasted years, three years where they could have invested in projects to create jobs in areas where unemployment's high, and nothing's happened. No wonder the people of Central and North Queensland feel abandoned by the government.

I was in Gladstone last week. I was at a coffee shop. I asked people there, 'Does anybody think we should give $17 billion to the big banks?' And—surprise, surprise—no-one did. But that's what the mob over there want to do. They want to give a $17 billion handout to the big banks.

Well, it's not what we'll do. If we're fortunate enough to earn the trust and support of the Australian people at the next election, I tell you what: we'll reverse the cuts they've made to schools and hospitals in Central and North Queensland. We'll remove TAFE fees for 100,000 students who want to do courses in areas where we've got skills shortages at the moment, and we'll build the infrastructure projects that I've just talked about. We'll do all of that and more, and we can do that because, unlike the Liberal Party and the National Party, we're not going to give a $17 billion tax cut to the big banks.

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

I would like to rebut the previous speaker's comments. Since being elected in 2013, I have put over $1 billion in projects in Central Queensland. I have to laugh about the hypocrisy of Labor going on about Rookwood Weir, when it took over 600 days for a business case to be done and, once the federal government put $175 million on the table, they still then said, 'Oh, we need money for operational costs.' Well, I say: let's get on with the job.

As politicians we don't often talk about things that set the world on fire. We talk about jobs, industry, health services and education. These are things most people would consider not exciting but necessary. The other thing they think is necessary is to be consistent. We currently have a fellow who sits in this place who dismisses the desire of the people for consistency. This man prefers to take a tailored approach to public commentary. He can give you exactly what you want, depending on where he is when he says it. Some have labelled this approach 'shifty'; some have labelled it 'unbelievable'. This is someone who can visit the mining regions of Central Queensland, declare his support for the local workers and then, just days later, pop up in Victoria, in a by-election, declaring he does not support the expanding coal industry in Central Queensland and even offering to shut down projects in the Galilee Basin if he were to become Prime Minister. 'How can this be? you may ask. 'Surely they would be caught out in this world of modern communications,' and you would be right.

The good people in my electorate of Capricornia are fed up with being strung along by someone who would like to be Prime Minister but cannot even be straight with those he hopes to receive support from. It takes a certain kind of person to sell out the jobs of the workers he professes to be fighting for. Central Queensland is a vital cog in the machine that is the national economy. It is home to energy, mining, sugar and the beef capital of Australia. We understand how these industries work. Being responsible for those who work within these industries gives one a particularly privileged and detailed understanding of the industries that, quite literally, keep the lights on and the wheels turning.

I always enjoy my trips to Canberra because I get to witness some of the greatest acts of hypocrisy one can imagine. For those opposite to have the audacity to cry out in the name of inequality and workers' rights while they systematically undermine the ability for everyday people to get a job is something to behold. Shutting down the coal industry would force thousands into unemployment. Those opposite have no answers to this economic devastation. You can't solar-panel your way out of that one. In Central Queensland we have two major coal basins: the Bowen Basin in the east and, tucked behind it to the west, the Galilee Basin. The natural resources within these basins are immense and provide enormous benefit to the state and national economies and to the government's budget. The Bowen Basin is a household name in Queensland, as it should be throughout the rest of the country as well. The coal seams of the Bowen Basin provide for thousands of direct jobs and billions of dollars in gross domestic product. These coal seams are more than that to me, though. They are the basis for thousands of families and dozens of small communities across the region. These coal seams do not just create a carbon-emitting hole in the ground; they create a home for so many Central Queenslanders.

When it comes to important items like national security, foreign aid and natural disaster recovery, we will tie ourselves in knots and abandon internal ideologies to ensure a bipartisan approach, because these things are considered appropriate. Why is it that we cannot prioritise economic advantage for rural Australians? As a National and passionate regional member, I have seen firsthand how much can be achieved by pulling appropriate levers to unlock the economic potential for the people in the bush—the real battlers, the men and women of the weatherboard and iron. Why is it that we cannot prioritise bipartisan support for these people and their lives? I say to those opposite: go to towns like Clermont and Alpha where the projects are already having a positive effect and tell them they don't deserve an opportunity for a better life; tell them while you sip on your coal powered soy lattes that their jobs are somehow immoral and must end. I know you won't because you know that to do so would be hugely offensive. Continuing the same line in parliament or on the hustings is no different. If you don't have the gumption to say it to their faces, don't say it in this place. Bipartisanship is reserved for important issues. What could be more important than the economic development of our region? I will keep fighting for them and I hope that some of those opposite can join me in fighting to give these people a real chance.

Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If the member for Dawson thinks he can stand in this place and talk about jobs for regional Queensland whilst he and the Turnbull government have repeatedly failed to deliver jobs for regional Queensland, then he has another thing coming. May I remind the member for Dawson, whose electorate also includes parts of Townsville, about some real facts around the dreadful state of jobs in Townsville. Since the LNP came to power, unemployment in Townsville has more than doubled. Townsville's unemployment rate when Labor left federal government in 2013 was lower than both the state and the national average. Now Townsville's unemployment rate is higher than the state average and almost double that of the national average.

Under the previous Labor government, manufacturing in Townsville was soaring. When Labor Left federal government in 2013, more than 8,400 people were employed in the manufacturing industry in Townsville. Under the Abbott-Turnbull governments, manufacturing has nosedived, with job losses of more than 3,000. There were 442 fewer construction industry business registrations in 2017, compared with 2012 figures. That's a loss of 153 retail business registrations in the same period.

Then there are the massive cuts that are being made by the LNP government to the public sector—110 ATO jobs in Townsville are gone, 50 Defence jobs are gone, 40 aviation jobs at No. 38 Squadron are gone, 19 CSIRO jobs are gone, and 30 customs jobs are gone. There has been job cut after job cut under the LNP. Whilst the government is cutting jobs in Townsville they're giving big business and the banks an $80 billion tax cut.

The member for Dawson is a better friend to the big banks than he is to the workers in his electorate, particularly in Townsville. Does the member for Dawson even know what projects will deliver jobs for Townsville? Let me inform him of three vital job-creating projects that Townsville needs: (1) long-term water security infrastructure; (2) energy infrastructure to lower the skyrocketing costs of electricity that have occurred under the Turnbull government; and (3) the port redevelopment, which will deliver more than $580 million in benefits to our regional community. The reality is that the member for Dawson and the Turnbull government have not funded one of these projects in their budget—not one cent. These projects will create jobs, deliver investment and ensure a boost to our local economy.

Labor understands regional Queensland, and that is why Labor is delivering real commitments. Labor understands the importance of these particular projects, and that is why we have committed funding to every single one of these vital projects. Unlike the member for Dawson, I have a track record of standing up and fighting for my community and actually delivering job-creating projects. I fought hard for the large infrastructure projects Townsville needs to ensure that our city has water and energy security. I fought hard for Labor's commitment of $200 million for hydroelectricity on the Burdekin Falls Dam, which will deliver 150 construction jobs. I fought hard for Labor's commitment of $100 million to ensure Townsville's long-term water security, and I fought hard for Labor's commitment of $75 million for the port expansion.

Where was the member for Dawson on these projects? The evidence is clear in the last budget: he is absolutely nowhere to be seen. The simple fact of the matter is that he has been unable to secure these three vital commitments from his government, so he has not delivered jobs for the Townsville community. The member for Dawson is Canberra's man in Dawson, not Dawson's man in Canberra.

I will always fight for jobs in my local community. Labor's plan for jobs in regional Queensland is clear, and if the member for Dawson can't match Labor's infrastructure commitments, then at the next election there will be another job loss in regional Queensland. I dare say it will be the member for Dawson, who has failed to deliver jobs for Townsville and regional Queensland, that will lose his own job.

Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was very interesting to hear the member for Herbert waxing lyrical there, but not once during her contribution did she say, 'I support the mine and I support the workers in my electorate.' Not once did she say that. I see the member for Herbert leaves the chamber—no wonder. We come to this chamber to represent, stand up and fight for the people of our electorates. There we saw an example of a member betraying her own electorate. One would think, out of anyone in this parliament, it would be the member for Herbert that would stand up and say, 'I support the coal in the Galilee Basin', yet we didn't hear a peep from the member for Herbert.

We heard my good friend the member for Blaxland talk about how he's going to spend all this money. I'm sure what the people of North Queensland want is what every other Australian wants. They don't want government handouts; they want economic opportunity, and that's what that coal basin provides. It provides those people with economic opportunity to create real wealth, to pay royalties to the Queensland state government, and to pay payroll tax and tax on company profits to the federal government to pay for all those things that we need. Yet we have the Labor Party coming in, turning their back on the economic opportunities that this offers to their constituents.

We hear so much from the Labor Party members about how there's no demand for this coal. Let's just look at a few figures. Currently around the world there are 467 coal plants under construction in 35 nations. There are a further 903 in 50 nations—

Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Wrong.

Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I hear the member there saying that is wrong. That is coal plants. It is true that for some of those numbers it might be a generator in one coal production plant. We know that in China, for example, the 220 under construction equate to about 20,000 gigawatts of electricity. We're talking about the equivalent of 100 Liddells under construction in China today. We've just seen information released for the Middle East. They have 44 gigawatts of electricity capacity under construction. That's twice Australia's existing capacity. They are building coal plants even in places like Dubai. There is the recently announced Hassan coal plant, a $2.3 billion investment in Dubai, because they know that they can have coal. When we look at the Resources and Energy Quarterly released only a few days ago, what do they say about thermal coal? 'Prices have pushed higher, as strong demand dominates the market.' Yet we have Labor Party members coming in here and telling us that thermal coal is in rapid decline. Let me read that again: 'Prices have pushed higher, as strong demand dominates the market.' That's the report on thermal coal. Exports from Australia are set to increase under these predictions. If we look further, to predictions by the US Energy Information Administration out to 2050, they predict that to keep up with the expected demand for coal we will need to increase our exports of coal between 30 and 40 per cent. The demand is there.

The question for the Labor Party is: do they support regional Queensland? Do they support jobs in that area, or are they prepared to sell them out for any inner city Green votes? Unfortunately, we've seen the answer from the performance of the member for Herbert and others in this chamber today. Green preferences are more important to them than standing up for workers' jobs in Northern Queensland. This is appalling. What an appalling performance we have seen here today!

We in the coalition know that that black coal seam that runs down our eastern seaboard is one thing that gives our nation a competitive advantage. If a project has all the environmental approvals in place, it should be supported by both houses of this parliament, especially when it will create jobs and real wealth in this nation. The failure of the Labor Party to support this is an absolute disgrace. It's an abandonment of the constituents of Northern Queensland.

Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise proudly to oppose this motion, because it is all crocodile tears from the government, who don't care a single iota for a single coalminer in this country. I have had the privilege of representing two seats in this parliament, the first named after a Lambton coalminer who went on to lead the Australian Labor Party, and the second named after Lieutenant Shortland, who discovered coal in Australia, in Newcastle. So I'm proud to represent a coal region. I'm proud to represent the 18,000 coalminers who call the Hunter home, their families and the communities who depend upon them. I'm proud of that, and I back that up with actions, like every other Labor member who represents a coal community in this country, and unlike those on the other side, who use them as cheap debating props and a high-visibility opportunity but go missing when real action is required.

I've never seen a coalition MP at the northern coalfields miners memorial, which is held every year to commemorate the 1,800 men, women and children as young as 11 who have died mining coal in the northern districts of New South Wales, even though the members for New England and Parkes represent northern districts coalmines. I've never seen a single member of the coalition stand up for mine safety in this place. I've done a Hansard search over the last three parliaments. Not a single coalition member has talked about the black lung plague that is returning to this country, where we've seen around 30 miners in Queensland and one in the Hunter diagnosed with black lung. Over the last three parliaments, not a single coalition member has talked about mining deaths at all. The simple truth is that they do not care one iota for miners in this country. They use them as props; then they disappear when there is an opportunity to actually protect them.

The truth is that one of the greatest protections for miners in this country is strong unions. Strong unions drive safer workplaces, but those on the other side are intent on weakening unions, because they are intent on weakening workplace safety. You just have to look at their constant attacks on the CFMEU, of which the mining and energy division is a strong proponent.

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

See, they arc up now! When you talk about defending mine safety and you're intent on making sure that coalmines are safe, they arc up—because the truth is that this is all about culture wars from those opposite. They use them as cheap debating tricks, but, when it comes to protecting coalminers and making sure they can come home at night, they don't care. They don't care one iota—and they flee the place. The member for Hughes is leaving the chamber because he knows I'm telling the truth.

Let's return to some facts, because those on the other side never see a fact. They never have any familiarity with a fact. The truth is that the seaborne thermal coal trade is declining. The trade for seaborne thermal coal, which is the market for the Galilee Basin, if it ever gets off the ground, and the market for most of the Hunter coal exports, is declining. It peaked in 2013 and has declined every year since. Australian coal exports have increased during that time, as other countries have switched from Vietnamese coal or Indonesian coal to Australian coal, but that market is declining. Subsidising new coalmines in the Galilee Basin threatens 18,000 coalmining jobs in my region, the Hunter, because, if you subsidise new competition into a declining market, it will inevitably lead to declining prices for coal. That has been attested to by the CEO of the Newcastle coal port, the largest coal export port in the world. They have said that subsidising Adani and new Galilee Basin mines will undermine Newcastle coal exports, will drive down prices and will threaten the 18,000 coalmining jobs in my community.

I'm proud to stand up for those jobs. I'm proud to say that we shouldn't subsidise new coalmines in the Galilee Basin, because it threatens my coalmining jobs. I'm proud to stand up for this community. I'm proud to stand up for coalminers so that they come home safely every night from work. I'm proud to stand up and speak in this House in opposition to the recurrence of black lung in the Australian coalmining industry. I'm proud to stand up with all my Labor colleagues and oppose any diminution of coalmining safety, which is what those opposite stand for. They stand for that when they attack the CFMEU. They stand for that when they undermine safety in the Australian coalmining industry. See through their crocodile tears; see through all their cant and hypocrisy and ask: what do they actually do around coalmines? They do nothing but debate them.

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Shortland for that contribution, although I don't agree with him sticking up for the CFMEU, given John Setka's record of being charged 59 times for different offences, including 15 counts of assaulting five different police officers. This is the same CFMEU leader who has done jail time, and the member for Shortland comes in here and wants to stick up for him and the CFMEU. Give me a break!

I rise today to speak in support of jobs, affordable electricity and freedom of choice—three core government responsibilities that Labor seem vehemently opposed to—and in support of this private member's bill. The member for Dawson moved that this House recognise:

that:

(1) the Australian Labor Party has abandoned workers in Queensland—

and indeed they have—

to chase Green votes in Victoria.

He moved that the House recognise that the opposition leader—

tells workers in Queensland he is pro coal—

and then in Victoria when he's down there campaigning in Batman says that he's against it and that he has—

promised green activist Geoff Cousins that he would tear up the approvals for—

coalworkers at the Carmichael mine. Mind you, he did that after a free trip worth $17,000 to the Great Barrier Reef for the Leader of the Opposition. The opening up of the Galilee Basin, according to the member for Dawson:

… has the potential to create over 16,000 jobs in Queensland;

(4) the Australian Labor Party is gambling with the integrity of Australia and has created a sovereign risk; and

(5)Australia should utilise its natural resources and encourage investment in our mining sector to create much needed jobs for regional areas.

When it comes to jobs, the coalition has a strong record. Jobs and growth is what we took to the people at the last election, and we have delivered. We have continued to deliver. We have delivered the strongest ever recorded jobs growth, of more than 1,000 new jobs a day—that is some 415,000 in the last 12 months. You can't lie with statistics. These figures, of course, are great news for every Australian, including the people in Townsville and the people in Petrie, and including all Australians who want the dignity of a job. They are also great news for the economic strength of our nation.

The Turnbull coalition government's idea of free enterprise reward for effort and government living within its means has resulted in over one million new jobs since 2013. This is very important. The members opposite talk about lower taxes. We 100 per cent support lower taxes. We support $140 million in lower taxes for individuals. We support another $37 million in lower taxes for businesses because statistics show that, since we've done that for businesses up to $50 million, 415,000 jobs have been created, 75 per cent of which are full-time. We don't support the $200 billion in new taxes that the opposition leader and the Labor Party want to impose on Australians in the next 10 years—that is $20 billion a year—which will affect a lot of people. We don't support that.

Labor have no plans for jobs and growth. All they know how to do is spend and tax and bind up everything in red and green tape, crippling small and family businesses and our farmers. In fact, Labor's ideas of what is fair and equal mean they put environmental ideology before people, control before freedom, and, as we've seen from the member for Shortland, unions before jobs, all of which result in division, debt and economic destruction. Furthermore, Labor are anti coal. They have sacrificed Australia's power bills at the altar of environmentalism. Today, the shadow minister, the assistant minister to the shadow Treasurer, the member for Whitlam, called people who support coal 'coal dinosaurs'. These are the people that the member for Shortland says that is sticking up for.

I do support the members opposite. I note, too, that the Queensland government is not only abandoning workers in coal but also abandoning farmers through the draconian new laws that it has just put in. Not only is Labor blocking a job-creating mine but it is attacking our farmers in Queensland, which is shameful as well. The member for Herbert should remember that the Palaszczuk government is in power up there and has done nothing for jobs. (Time expired)

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm happy to speak on this motion on mining and jobs put forward by the member for Dawson, who sits in Canberra as a National Party MP. I note that we had one other National Party MP speak and then we had a Liberal from New South Wales and a Liberal from inner city Brisbane speaking on this motion. It indicates how the Nationals in Queensland have completely changed. I grew up in country Queensland. When I was a kid, the Nationals who stood down in parliament were farmers. But look at them now. Among the MPs and senators representing Queensland you've got bankers, journalists, accountants and economists. There are no more farmers who actually understand the bush.

Let's look at what Labor has done. I know that the National Party has forgotten its roots, but let's look at what Labor has done for the bush. I represent an inner-city seat. As far as I'm concerned as a marginal MP, we should be focusing on the inner city, but no. What did we do? We rolled out the NBN. Who benefits from that? Businesses in the bush. Who benefits from the NDIS? The bush. It actually went into Townsville first in Queensland. And of course there was needs based funding for schools—a Labor Party policy. Who benefits most from that? National Party electorates. Every school in the bush benefited. The Labor Party actually has a strong, long history of investing in the bush, but we see the Nationals in Queensland have deserted their base. There are no more farmers in the National Party, no more farmers in Queensland having a voice down in Canberra. It's unbelievable. I think even the Leader of the Opposition in the state parliament is a lawyer from Brisbane. So gone are the days when the National Party used to actually have a voice and a connection to the bush.

We see the former journalist the member for Dawson putting in this motion—yet another example of talking tough down here in Canberra but, when he gets back to the bush, walking soft. They don't understand the bush. I would put the member for Shortland or the member for Hunter, who actually understand the bush, forward any day, because they understand what farmers want. So we see that the Queensland LNP members are putting all of their eggs into the proposal from the member for Hughes. He's putting out one proposal: investing in coal. Of course we have the member for Warringah's idea of nationalising a coal-fired power station and then selling it off. He's a long-term sleeper cell from the socialists, obviously! He's been working on this for 30 or 40 years, letting the workers take over the means of production, and then they'll work on the banks! They'll nationalise the banks. It is unbelievable that these are the economic lights those opposite are following.

I know that capital makes its own decisions, and what is capital doing in terms of investing in thermal coal projects? No-one is stopping capital from investing in thermal coal projects. Instead, capital is shying away from it? Why? You can look at the spot prices, but it is also because of competition. Obviously, I would prefer Queensland coalmines to do this, but we have supply coming out of the Hunter that means that thermal coal is not going to be benefiting from a billion dollars in taxpayer funds. We've seen the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, supposedly set up a few years ago by the coalition government, and as far as I can work out all it seems to do is pay its staff to get on Facebook. They don't actually seem to be turning out any jobs for Queensland.

But let's look at what the Queensland Labor government and the federal Labor Party's vision for Queensland is. Let's look at some of the projects. For the Townsville port channel widening there is $75 million invested, giving 60 ongoing jobs and 120 construction jobs. The Rockhampton-Yeppoon road duplication gets nearly $50 million. That will create 150 local jobs and boost regional productivity. The Mackay ring road gets $100 million and 250 new jobs. The Gladstone port access road gets $100 million and 200 Queensland jobs. The Burdekin hydroelectric dam gets $200 million and will give enough electricity for 30,000 homes. The South Rockhampton Flood Levee gets $25 million to finish the levee, and obviously that will protect households in times of flood. And Labor will allocate $176 million to the Rockwood Weir and also pump money into the Bruce Highway extension, investing in real jobs that deliver economic benefits for Queensland.

Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.