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

There's been fantastic progress in resource projects right around our nation this year, especially, as Senator McDonald has expressed, around the Adani Carmichael mine, which I know she's a big supporter of. It's now been 201 days since the 18 May federal election, and how good is it that 200 people have been employed at the Adani Carmichael mine site since then? Basically, in those 200 days we've had one person a day get a job at the Adani mine, thanks to the fact that this government stood up for jobs at the election. This government and the Australian people rejected the Labor Party's approach, which was to shut down jobs and shut down our great coal industry. Those 200 people are helping to drive and move around 50 big yellow things—bulldozers, scrapers, water trucks and compactors—at the Carmichael mine site. The fact there are 200 people there means that the work camp at the Carmichael site is full. I visited that work camp a couple of years ago. It was depressing to see the delays that the Queensland government had presided over and a work camp empty, a gym empty and a mess centre empty. But now, a couple of years on, it is full of activity. Santa clause is going to be very busy on Christmas Eve around the Galilee Basin because there are a lot of people working there —a lot of people in jobs, a lot of people providing for their families.

But the benefits of the Carmichael mine do not end there. Contracts of more than $500 million have now been provided to businesses all around Australia, including, the other week, Wagner's—a $35 million contract to do work at the Carmichael mine site. That extends the benefits of backing projects like this to Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville—towns all around Queensland are this Christmas benefiting from the fact that we are standing up for jobs. We are standing up for our great coal industry and making sure we continue to be a strong resources nation that provides jobs for Australians.