Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Canavan for his question. Senator Canavan is a renowned champion of the Australian resources sector in particular. The Australian resources industry is a world leader when it comes to the extraction, production and export of high-quality resources. The industry represents a significant proportion of Australia's economy and is the backbone of many regional communities and towns across Australia, as Senator Canavan and all my Liberal and National colleagues know and appreciate. The resources industry represents some nine per cent of Australia's GDP. Importantly, that grew last financial year by 0.5 per cent, worth $7 billion extra to Australia's economy as a result. In 2019-20 our resources and energy exports reached a record of $290 billion for Australia. Our iron ore was the first commodity to ever record more than $100 billion in export revenue. Our gold industry is poised to become the world's largest producer; it is forecast to record some $31 billion of production in 2020-21.

Even in the midst of the most significant global pandemic and economic shock, the resources industry is investing in Australia, and in Australians and Australian jobs, with mining capital investment increasing by 5.4 per cent over the course of the last financial year. The resources industry is already a supporter of Australian jobs, employing 247,000 Australians in August this year, an increase of almost 6,000 compared with February this year. Of course, they are just the direct contributions; the resources industry supports so many more jobs than those direct contributions. That's why the Morrison-McCormack government recognises its importance and continues to invest in the industry and its growth potential. (Time expired)