Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Resources and the Minister for Northern Australia. How is the Albanese Labor government supporting a strong resource sector to drive a future made in Australia and create secure jobs? What approaches to our resource sector has the government ruled out?

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the wonderful member for Swan for her fine question, especially in Minerals Week, when, here in Canberra, we welcome those from the industry to come together to talk about the nation-building contribution of the resources sector, which is the engine room of Australia's economy. It is the source of well-paid jobs and billions of dollars of investment from right around the world, and it will help drive our Future Made in Australia to capitalise on the world's transition to net zero.

This government's budget in May put the resources industry at the heart of government policymaking. We have committed to $17 billion for a production tax incentive for critical minerals to encourage onshore processing and $3.4 billion for the Resourcing Australia's Prosperity program so that Geoscience Australia can identify deposits of critical minerals and map our future. It was the most significant federal budget for the resources sector in a generation, because we support the resources sector through industry backed policy not by simply attending dinners and parties in the Pilbara.

There have been alternative approaches, and we have rejected them. For instance, we won't measure our support for the industry by the number of resources ministers we have at any one time. We also won't kick the resources portfolio around like a political football, kicking it out of the cabinet room because of a Nationals leadership squabble. What the opposition are doing is standing in the way of a production tax incentive and doing communities out of jobs and investments.

As well as the production tax credit, this government supports the resources sector through the NAIF and the Critical Minerals Facility.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Page is now warned.

Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have financed seven important resources projects under the NAIF and more under the CMF. The seven resources projects will create more than 7,000 jobs in resources, which is more than double what the opposition managed to do with the NAIF when they were in government, and the total value of those seven resources projects is $13 billion, which is more than quadruple the support those opposite ever provided to the sector via the NAIF.

What those opposite are doing is worse than nothing. By standing in the way of production tax credits, they are standing in the way of jobs in their communities. It beggars belief that those opposite have absolutely no problem with government loans that necessarily assume a higher risk because of the challenges, but they oppose industry led policy that is no risk because it provides investment incentives and is paid out only on success. These economic dunderheads on the other side of the House want to break up Qantas and Jetstar. They want to boycott Woolies. They want government owned and run nuclear power plants, but they won't back industry led production tax credits for a critical minerals processing sector.