Sue Boyce (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would also like to take note of the answers—well, the almost answers, the semi-answers—given by Minister Wong to questions asked by coalition senators today regarding the emissions trading scheme and the effect that it will have on jobs. I think we have had quite enough of the big picture, as presented by Minister Wong, which has no detail about anything except that perhaps it will be okay some time in the future—that is, if there is anyone left to take the jobs that she hopes to be able to create in the future some time. Let us get away from that big picture and talk about what is actually happening on the ground right now in regional communities all over Australia—for example, in Gladstone and Mount Isa, which particularly concern me.

I have used in the past a story that was told to me in the Queensland country town of Roma, about what happened when they were having difficulty finding a bank manager for one of the local banks. When there was no bank manager in Roma, the 10 major accounts of that bank were transferred to the nearest large town, which was Toowoomba. Guess where those families went to shop, to have haircuts, to buy shoes and to buy clothes? They went to the major regional centre, not the local town. The effect on the economy of Roma of taking a key worker out of the system was dramatic, to the extent that the council got involved to try and ameliorate the problem. This is what we are looking at thousands and thousands of times over in centres like Gladstone and Mount Isa. Now vibrant regional towns, they are certainly not going to stay that way if Minister Wong can see only the big picture of the future, not what is actually happening on the ground right now to Queenslanders.

It is worth noting the comments made by the mayors of Mount Isa and Gladstone in this regard. The Mayor of Mount Isa, John Molony, said:

… the ETS should be held in abeyance until the economic downturn is over …

He points out:

… smelting and copper refining in Mt Isa and Townsville … would be severely hindered—

if they had to trade carbon emission permits. It is beyond thinking that the only response that the minister had to that was: ‘Oh well, it’ll be okay in years to come. They can all go and work in tourism on the Great Barrier Reef.’

The Mayor of Gladstone, George Creed, has also said that the ETS will damage the industrial viability of his community at the very time when they can least afford it. These mayors are interested, yes, in the long-term future of their communities. They are interested in ensuring that climate change has the least possible impact on their communities. But they are also interested in the plight faced by working families in those towns right now. They do not need the sorts of pie in the sky responses that we received from the minister during question time.

It was interesting to note that, despite the questions that were asked by my colleague Senator Boswell about the coal industry, the minister managed to never use the term ‘coal’ in her answer. She responded by talking about emission intensive industries and the like. These are real industries that are worked in by real people. What we need the government to do is to get real and care about what is happening now. Certainly they should pursue the long-term need to reduce emissions and ameliorate the effects of climate change, but they should not do it wholly and solely at the expense of Australian workers now.

Let us look just briefly at what the Queensland response to the cuts in jobs in Queensland will be. Where is Minister John Mickel? Nonexistent. Where is the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, and where are her attempts to save jobs? Not there. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.