Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Hansard source

The coal industry is providing jobs in communities across rural and regional Australia. It employed more than 54,000 people last year and pays more than $5 billion annually in royalties, enabling new investment in roads, hospitals and schools, and provides jobs and opportunities for current and future generations. The Bylong Valley coal project will create around 1,000 new jobs and inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the region. Unelected state agencies bowing to activists' demands are imperilling our economy.