Susan McDonald (Queensland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The federal Labor government's hostility towards the mining resources sector is reverberating around the world. After recently attending the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada Convention in Toronto, it is clear that Australia is sending signals to the mining world that will have disastrous implications for our economy not just now but for years to come. It now takes 16 years to get approval for a new energy or critical minerals mine. For context, that means that a new mine opening in Australia today would have to have started the process back in 2008, during the global financial crisis. Since Labor assumed government in 2022, this company would also have to factor in increased taxes, soaring energy costs, a dramatic rise in union powers, new industrial relations laws, stricter environmental regulations and federally funded court actions by green groups.

The PDAC conference ranks amongst the largest of its kind, with 1,100 exhibitors and 27,000 participants from all over the world. It is a stage on which resources-rich Australia should shine, but our light is noticeably dimmed against other countries with a far more enthusiastic approach to attracting new mines. We've delayed the approvals process for too long, and we've made it hard for companies to invest in Australia in a reasonable time frame. This means that, instead of providing Australia with well-paid mining jobs, royalties and taxes, we risk relying on the rest of the world for our needs and losing the benefits of a successful resources industry.

Each week, companies tell me that delayed approvals make it hard to secure investment and ensure Australian jobs stay in Australia. This has a flow-on effect for our manufacturing businesses, and many have been forced to close. They could survive COVID, but they couldn't survive this Labor government.