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

There is a cabal in this place that is combining to try to shut down coal-fired power stations in Australia. We know that members of the Greens have always had that view. But last week the Labor Party also supported a motion in this place saying that coal is on the decline and that we should walk away from coal-fired power and walk away from 70 per cent of our electricity supply.

The Labor Party are turning their backs on the 44,000 Australians who work in our coalmining sector. Those 44,000 Australians help produce much of the energy resources that power the world. They are good, hardworking Australians who deserve representation in this place. You would think they would get it from the Australian Labor Party; you would think the Australian Labor Party would be supporting coalmining workers—but they are not, in their alliance with the Greens; we are supporting a coalmining sector, because we believe that we must have cheap and affordable energy supplies for our nation but that it can also guarantee good high-paying jobs.