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

I intend to give you a bit more of Senator Canavan, whether you like it or not! My question is to the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Senator Canavan. Can the minister outline to the Senate the importance of resources projects to jobs in Australia and whether there is anything putting these jobs at risk?

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

I thank the senator for his question. He is right to focus on the importance of jobs that are created in resource projects in this country. He is right to focus on the fact that our mining sector, our resources sector, is a major employer in our nation, employing over 200,000 people. Indeed, that number is now more than double what it was before the mining boom. While some like to propose that the mining boom is somehow over, the facts are that our industry, our mining sector, is bigger thanks to that boom and it will be bigger for decades to come thanks to all the investments that have occurred.

We want to continue to attract investments. We want to continue to attract people here. But those investments are put at risk when we have conduct on building sites from construction unions—from the CFMEU, who otherwise purport to represent mining workers and want to attract mining investment—conduct like that alleged to have taken place by Mr Bradley Upton, a CFMEU official. The Fair Work Building and Construction agency has alleged that Mr Upton was threatening and abusing construction workers on the Gorgon LNG project who were not members of the union. He made comments to the effect that: 'We got you these conditions. We know who you are. We're going to put your names on the backs of toilet doors. We're going to do standover tactics next year to let everyone know who you'—this is followed by words that I cannot use in this chamber.

This is conduct that we see time and time again on building sites all over this country. It also includes construction sites that are integral to getting resources projects up in this country. We have done a good job of attracting that investment, of creating those extra 100,000 jobs in our resources sector. I hope we can continue in the future, but to do so we need to stamp out conduct like that. That is why this government is committed to doing that. That is why this government is committed to making sure we have a harmonious workplaces that can attract investment and create jobs.

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

Is the minister aware of any other threats?

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

Unfortunately, there are other threats to these investments occurring. It is not just the behaviour of some trade union officials that has been alleged that is putting those investments at risk; it is also the conduct of another group in this alliance—environmental activist groups that are seeking to disrupt and delay these projects. We know they are seeking to do that, because they say so themselves. They say that they want to create breathing space through these legal challenges so that they can run a political campaign against the resources sector. They are not running these cases to protect the environment; they are running these cases for political purposes. And they are being supported in that endeavour, of course, by the Greens, but also by the Labor Party, who are also supported by the CFMEU, who also support both those political parties in their endeavours to stop resource projects from coming to this country. A trade union that is ostensibly set up to support mining workers, to support the creation of jobs in our resources sector, is funding the very people that want to stop those jobs being created. Again, that must be stamped out.

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 update the Senate on the steps the government is taking to prevent such disruption?

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

The government is committed to ensuring that we can facilitate investment in this country, that we can facilitate projects like the Adani coalmine, which represents a game changer for Central and North Queensland in our country that would create thousands of jobs. They are the kinds of projects we need. To do so, we need to make sure that those sorts of projects are not held up for years in litigation, as this project has been. We need to get behind reforms that the government has previously announced and committed to to facilitate these investments, to unclog our court system from these abusive legal processes. That is why the government will recommit to doing that. We will recommit to trying to do what we can to create jobs in this country, and we will of course commit to reforms to our trade unions. I expressed in my first speech my views on the good work that trade unions have done. But we need to make sure we have laws in place that make trade unions put their members' interests before their own interests.