Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Of course, almost by definition, all mines are located in regional Australia, but so much of urban Australia owes almost its birth to the resources sector. So many cities around this country owe, if not their birth, their initial growth to the investment that was put in place by mining. Of course, Melbourne is one of the prime examples of that with the goldmining sector. Where I was last week, with Tony—Newman is a mining town and would not be there without the iron ore industry. Where I am from, Rockhampton, was a goldmining town thanks to Mount Morgan, and it now benefits from the coalmining sector in this region.

So many of our regional centres rely on this sector; that is why it is a sector this government supports. We support those sectors of our economy that provide wealth and create jobs, that allow us to have a very prosperous economy and to spend money on services for the wider Australian public, be they hospitals or schools. The mining sector helps pay the bills, and that is why we support it.