Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Hansard source

Earlier this afternoon we heard from the Leader of the Opposition when he talked about the community of Gove. Indeed, the Leader of the Opposition, Senator Nova Peris and I visited Gove last Friday. On 28 or 29 November, Rio Tinto advised the community of Gove that they were going to curtail their refinery at Gove, meaning the loss of something like 1,200 jobs, and that this curtailment would start from the beginning of February and be completed by the end of July. This is not the period we are talking about with Holden or with Toyota—this is not some years; this is some months.

The community at Gove are concerned not only about the loss of jobs but also about the loss of infrastructure, the loss of community support and the loss of social services. We heard this morning from the mouth of the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory that the population of Gove dropped from 4,000 people to 1,200 people—4,000 to 1,200. Businesses in Gove made decisions based on advice they had received from Rio Tinto in February and May last year to invest in the Gove community. As a result of this announcement, their investments are no longer worth the paper they are written on. We are seeing property values fall astronomically, we are seeing services being withdrawn from the community and we are seeing the future of education and health services gravely in doubt.

Yet we have not heard a word—not one single word—from the Prime Minister or any other senior minister from this government. In fact, although those opposite, and particularly Senator Scullion, were all over Nhulunbuy and the region like a rash during the lead-up to the election campaign, Senator Scullion has not been sighted since this announcement was made. These are his constituents. He is a senior cabinet minister in this government and he has abandoned the people of Nhulunbuy and the region. There has been no effort. Not one scintilla of hope has been given to this community by this government.

What the Prime Minister has proven yet again today is that he cares nothing for people who live in the regions of Australia, cares nothing for people whose jobs are going, as they are in Gove, and cares nothing for the Aboriginal communities of north-east Arnhem Land—because they are the ones who, in the long term, will suffer most. I met with people at Yirrkala last Friday, with the Leader of the Opposition, the local member, Lynne Walker, and Senator Peris. We were told by these people from Yirrkala, the Yolngu people from north-east Arnhem Land, that they were concerned about the future of Gove for a number of reasons—not only the loss of jobs for the people they called their brothers and sisters who worked in the Gove refinery but also the future jobs that may have been created had the refinery stayed. They are worried about the future of their kids and are concerned about the loss of opportunities that would have been there had this infrastructure remained.

There are no transition plans being proposed by this government. We know from a task force meeting that Rio Tinto advised the government about this potential closure 18 months ago. Yet we hear recently from a government member on this task force that the government told the Northern Territory government and Rio Tinto that there would effectively be no package. So what the Northern Territory government now know is that the Commonwealth government has abandoned them and abandoned the people of Gove. In addition to being abandoned by the Commonwealth government, we also know, as a result of a statement made by the Northern Territory Chief Minister, Adam Giles, in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly this morning, that the Northern Territory government have abandoned the people of Gove as well.

No information has been given to the community about the social, economic, environmental and demographic impacts on them. But we are to believe that, somehow or other, given the contribution we have heard this afternoon from members opposite, this government is concerned about jobs in the community. They are not concerned at all. They have abandoned working people in this country. They do not like talking to working people, particularly those who are members of unions, and of course the workers at Gove are unionised—'So we can't be talking to them; God no!' Of course, they will eventually get the blame. We will hear the Prime Minister get up and say, 'If the Gove workers had done things differently this would not have happened.' Well, of course, we know that that is rot, and Rio Tinto know that as well. They would tell the government that that is rot.

We understand that sometimes these commercial decisions are taken, but it is up to Rio Tinto and this Commonwealth government to slow down this eminent process of closure to allow the adjustments that need to be made in this region to be properly made and to allow for investments to be made in infrastructure that will provide long-term opportunities, jobs and services to the people of Gove and north-east Arnhem Land.

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