Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Northern Australia constitutes something like three million square kilometres. It has approximately one million people, of which I am very proud to say that I am one. Two other people from our side are joining me in this debate today: Senator Eggleston, who has spent most of his life in Northern Australia and is an expert on the north of Western Australia and Northern Australia generally, as a very distinguished former mayor of Port Hedland; and Senator Bill Heffernan who, whilst he does not live in Northern Australia, could well do and indeed knows more about Northern Australia than practically anyone else in this chamber, through, amongst other things, his very successful and very visionary leadership of the Northern Australian Land and Water Taskforce set up by the Howard government.

Out of Northern Australia comes some $96 billion worth of exports via seaports, and that constitutes about 54 per cent of Australia's total. More than 636 million tonnes is exported from seaports in Northern Australia, and that represents some 74 per cent of the national exports via seaports.

And what are the big exports from Northern Australia? They are minerals and beef cattle. Have a look at what Labor has done to the minerals industry and the beef cattle industry, two industries significant in Northern Australia brought to their knees by the actions of the Gillard and Rudd Labor government. The imposition of a mining tax does more to chase away investment that is so needed in Northern Australia to unlock the wealth that is there.