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

I think it's best, when you want to know what's going to happen in a particular area where change might occur, to actually ask the people who live in those areas. I know and I know Senator Macdonald knows—living in these areas, we talk to people about what might happen if these things happen. People like Mr Kelly Appleton, who's the publican of the Grand Hotel in Clermont in Central Queensland, spells it out very clearly. He says, 'People don't realise that if the mines close so do the towns'. That's exactly what happens. If the mines go, the towns go, the schools go, the petrol stations go, the newsagents go, the jobs go. That's what happens. And that's why we're supporting the development of these communities and supporting the development of our great coal industry, our nation's biggest exporter. We'd like to see it bigger and better and creating more jobs and more wealth for regional towns and more opportunities for the families who live in Central and North Queensland.