Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator O'Sullivan for the question. He is certainly someone who knows the importance of industries that support local jobs, particularly in regional Australia. I'm pleased to say that the resources industry is making a great contribution to the nation: six per cent of our GDP, $200 billion a year in exports and, in particular, employment for the breadwinners of 235,000 families. I'm pleased to advise you, Senator O'Sullivan, that around 10,000 people are directly employed in those communities you represent around Central Queensland. This isn't just about 10,000 jobs; they also add to Central Queensland's regional economy, and business confidence is growing strongly. The Queensland Resources Council reckons that about $2.1 billion is spent on goods and services, which benefits over 3,500 local businesses. In the Rockhampton local government area alone, 1,000 local businesses benefitted from the $280 million spent on goods and services in 2015-16.

Senator, I know you'd also be pleased to know that we've issued a new mandate for the Export Finance Investment Corporation that will support our resources industry. The Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment issued a new mandate which will allow Efic to support a wider range of exporters, enabling support for our domestic resources. This is all about opening up more opportunities for the resource industry to contribute to our nation. But, of course, this approach is not something that we are seeing across the political spectrum. I say to those opposite: if you could talk to the Labor governments in Victoria and the Northern Territory, which seem to be the prime offenders, it would be terrific, because at the moment they are going against the specific advice of Australia's Chief Scientist, who has advised that we should develop these resources on a case-by-case basis. So I encourage those opposite to do something with your state colleagues and backflip on these bans and moratoriums that are locking up 100 years of power and opportunity. (Time expired)