Barry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Senator Canavan. Can the minister update the Senate on the current state of the resources industry?

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

Thank you, Senator O'Sullivan, for the question. It is good news today for the resources sector. It is good news for our country that commodity prices are improving. In a week here in parliament which is Minerals Week—and many from our resources sector are here—we can report, and it is on the front page of the Financial Review today, that prices are increasing, that the revenue coming to this country is going up and that, potentially, our budget will improve as well, thanks to this good news. This good news in the Financial Review indicates that Australian coal companies have been able to reach agreement with Japanese customers. According to the Financial Review, the prices that have been increased are consistent with what we have seen in stock markets over the past two months—potentially more than a 100 per cent increase in coking coal prices compared with the $80 per tonne we saw only a few months ago. So this is great news for the country. If these prices were to be sustained, we potentially would increase our budget revenue by $7 billion and would increase our national income by two per cent.

There is a question about whether these prices will stay high, but it does put a lie to the fact that those out there are saying that somehow the resources industry is no longer important to our country. It is extremely important. It is extremely important to our economic growth, it is extremely important to the jobs that are created in regional areas and of course it is very, very important to the budget situation of our nation. So it is good news that the resources sector is bouncing back. It is good news that our coal is still demanded right across the world, particularly in those parts of Asia that need these resources to produce the steel that goes into products all around the world, including things like wind turbines and electric cars. All of these other types of technologies as well need this vital input from the Bowen Basin. Here in this country we have some of the world's best resources. They are well in demand and prices are increasing.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator O'Sullivan, a supplementary question.

Barry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister explain how the resources industry is ensuring further jobs and growth across Australia?

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

Yesterday, not only did we have good news in terms of prices that are flowing through to investment decisions in the sector as well but Glencore announced that it would reopen the Collinsville mine in Central Queensland. That will create 200 jobs in Collinsville. It is a shot in the arm for Central Queensland. It is exactly the news that the region needs. It has done it tough in recent times, given declining prices, given the putting back of investment projects, but this decision yesterday shows that there is life in our coal industry, that there are more jobs being created and that it is a thriving industry and a very important one for Central Queensland. Over the last decade, thanks to the boom in the mining sector, employment in the mining industry has more than doubled and it now sits at around 220,000 people, and those people and their families rely on this industry for their livelihoods.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator O'Sullivan, a final supplementary question.

Barry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister inform the Senate how the people of northern Australia stand to benefit from recent developments in the resources industry?

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

Last night I had the honour of giving the government's first update on its progress in implementing the northern Australian white paper. Progress is being made. We have made announcements of more than $500 million, more than half a billion dollars, into specific roads and specific water investments across our north. They are going to help grow our north and drive the economy of northern Australia for the benefit of all Australians. One thing that is important to note from what I did last night as well is that more than half of the economy of northern Australia comes from the resources sector. Northern Australia represents more than half of our exports from Australia. A lot of those are, of course, resource exports. So northern Australia does need a strong resources sector to grow. We need a strong resources sector to grow northern Australia. Northern Australia needs a strong resources sector to grow itself. So this recent good news for the resources sector is good news for our northern Australia development plan as well, which remains on track and which is delivering results for all Australians.