Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism. Will the minister update the House on the contribution that the resources and energy sectors are making to the strength of the Australian economy?

Martin Ferguson (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Resources and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moreton for his question. The figures released today by the independent Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics clearly show the strength and resilience of the Australian economy. They are also a very strong statement about our capacity to manage the implementation of the MRRT and our confidence in the future of our economy.

Let us deal with a few hard facts. Firstly, export earnings from resources and energy commodities have set a new record, reaching $175 billion in 2010-11. Secondly, this is an increase of 27 per cent on 2009-10 and a nine per cent increase on the previous record of $160 billion set in 2008-09. Clearly, the decisive action we took as a government through the global financial crisis is bearing fruit. Our community had confidence in our capacity to go forward and use the resources and energy boom to further strengthen the diversification of the Australian economy. I would also remind you that we have achieved this result despite the serious adverse weather effects experienced in Queensland, the Cooper Basin and the Pilbara region of Western Australia earlier this year. It is also interesting to note that we have not alone benefited from high commodity prices. We are also seeing increases in export volumes, which is very important. That is related to the fact that we as a government have invested and will continue to invest in productivity related issues such as the skilling of the Australian workforce and infrastructure. It is also why we are working with the resource and energy sector to try and encourage them to invest in the skilling of our Indigenous community side by side, by focusing on the increased employment of women in this sector, and to use migration with a focus on skilled and semi-skilled migration agreements to enable us to deliver these projects on time and on budget.

Take the value of liquefied natural gas. Exports of LNG have hit for the first time $10 billion, with export volumes up 12 per cent and the value of exports up 34 per cent in 2009-10. These are exceptional results that we should be proud of as a nation. Similar results apply across a range of commodities, be it iron ore, metallurgical and thermal coal or, for that matter, copper. Importantly, they say to the domestic and international economies that we as a nation are a safe haven for investment. That is why we have a capital investment pipeline at the moment of $430 billion, of which $110 billion is in the LNG sector. I am also confident that over the next six to eight months we will achieve a further investment of $50 billion to $60 billion, effectively meaning that by Easter of next year we will have $500 billion committed to new capital investment in Australia.

Our responsibility is to use this opportunity to assist those sections of the Australian economy who are finding it tough because of the strength of the Australian dollar coming off the back of the strength of our resources sector. It is about diversifying our economy, smart investment in manufacturing, support for financial and legal services and the importance of our hospitality and catering services sector. We are the envy of the world when it comes to economic opportunities, and the Australian community can have a sound confidence in our economic future.