Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

The introduction of Labor's safeguard mechanism is an attack on the hi-vis workers of Australia and the heavy industries that keep the lights on in our country. The safeguard mechanism is carbon tax 2.0 with a facelift that only serves to punish the people who drive our economy. Not unlike the carbon tax of the Gillard era, the safeguard mechanism serves to place a dollar figure on carbon emissions. When Julia Gillard introduced her carbon tax, the price she put on a tonne of carbon was $23. Now the Albanese government has decided that each tonne will cost a business $75, and by 2030 it will increase to $100 a tonne.

The climate change minister announced in January that 215 heavy industry businesses will be required to purchase credits. It will also be mandatory for these facilities to cut their emissions by five per cent every year until 2030 in order for Labor to hit its climate targets. The 215 businesses—two of which are Australia's last oil refineries—include 66 coal mines, 36 gas facilities, 26 iron ore mines and 49 manufacturing facilities.

Of those 215 businesses that will be hit, 63 are located in Queensland. All but two of these businesses are situated in the regions. Central Queensland will become the epicentre for Labor's carbon tax, with almost 75 per cent of the facilities located in just two federal electorates. Twenty-eight operate in my electorate of Capricornia and 18 in the electorate of Flynn. Some of the facilities affected in my electorate include a rail freight facility, a magnesium processing plant and a number of mines across the electorate, all of which contribute heavily to the economy.

In Capricornia alone the total economic contribution of the resources sector in the 2021-22 financial year was worth over $315 million in gross product and 1,918 locals were employed in it. One hundred and sixty-six local businesses and charities situated in my electorate of Capricornia shared $50 million in direct spending in this same period. Coal, metal and gas mining has pumped $9.4 billion back into the Queensland economy and one in every six jobs in the state is within this sector.

There are 14,303 businesses and 1,415 charities that have all shared in $27 billion of direct spending. Nine billion dollars in royalties from the resources industry was put back into Queensland through funding for our hospitals and upgrading key infrastructure. There have been many federally funded projects that without the wealth of regional Australian mines would never have happened. Major projects in my electorate of Capricornia, such as the $45 million Rockhampton Airport redevelopment, $136 million for flood proofing the Bruce Highway into Rockhampton, $183.6 million for the Rookwood Weir project and $166 million for safety upgrades to the Eton Range, were all made possible by the resource industry.

While the resource industry has been a mainstay of the Australian economy for the past 100 years, the strength of the industry was particularly noticeable during COVID—supporting the Australian economy it helped cushion the blow of damaging economic impacts that have been experienced over the past few years. The growth within the resources industry has been nothing short of astonishing. In 20 years, the gross value added to the Australian economy grew from $35 billion in the 2000-01 period to $222 billion by 2020-21.

The announcement by the Labor government to impose a carbon tax has a more far-reaching effect than just on the companies operating these facilities. It will affect how much families pay to switch a light on and put fuel in their car and will lead to higher grocery bills. In my electorate of Capricornia families and businesses are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

A local, family-run bakery in my electorate has been struggling to keep up with the costs of skyrocketing power prices, wage increases, raw materials and transport costs, which are on the rise each week. Another constituent of mine lives in the rural town of Clermont which is over three hours from his closest major hospital. Unfortunately, he has been diagnosed with cancer and makes a six-hour round trip to his closest major hospital for treatment each week. These necessary journeys now cost this pensioner $200 extra a week to his budget and continue to grow as the months go by.

Under this Labor government the cost to the bakery and my constituent will only go up, as more taxes are imposed to punish the industries that carry the nation. This will, in turn, be passed onto consumers—the mums and dads raising families, and the pensioners and the small family-run businesses that are the backbone of the economy. During this cost-of-living crisis, what these people need last is price hikes on the basics, such as food and power, because those opposite need to meet a legislated target. Right now, our focus should be on supporting new technologies that can deliver affordable and reliable energy as well as supporting the industries that can deliver this.

Queensland supplies the world with elements, minerals and metals, supporting the economic development of Australia and many other nations. Australia is on the edge of a key resources mining boom to meet the high demand for critical minerals that are required when creating low-emissions technologies, batteries and electric vehicles. An electric car requires six times the quantity of minerals than a regular vehicle. A wind turbine requires several more times the quantity of minerals than a gas- or coal-fired power station. More than 220 tonnes of coal is needed to build a wind turbine. It is a rather inconvenient truth for climate activists that in order to decarbonise our nation we need more mining.

This is a key to reducing the living pressures families, right across Australia, are facing. With the cost of living already bringing people to their knees, now is not the time to impose new legislation to make it harder for families or risk heavy job losses across an industry that has supported Australia to become what it is today. The previous government invested about $2.5 billion in resource industries that support us. Thousands of new jobs were created to help families and the towns in which they live. The coalition had the road map to reach net zero by 2050 without sacrificing the economy through loss of productivity.

Unlike the Labor Party, we believe in technology, not taxes, to achieve these goals. There was $22 billion committed to bring down the cost of low-emissions technologies, such as hydrogen, ultra low-cost solar, green steel and the aluminium industry. Investment in these technologies resulted in up to $132 billion of investment in the private sector, and 160,000 Australians were supported through employment. These industries are proven to bring growth and support the economy. Yet the Labor government are wanting to impose further legislation to stifle the industry and prevent further growth and investment—while, in turn, driving up household bills even further to meet their climate objectives.

The push by Labor and the Greens to meet their objectives is destroying land that is prime agriculture pastures and national forest. As I'm seeing in the town of Eungella, in my electorate, the Labor Party are willing to sacrifice pristine wilderness that is home to the platypus and is one of Queensland's most ecologically diverse national parks. This government are so determined to meet their targets that they are willing to provide $32 million to the Queensland Labor state government's hydro project that will destroy subtropical rainforest and agricultural land that is the food bowl for Central and North Queensland and ruin the lives of those who will be forced out of their homes. This is all so that people in the cities can feel better about where their power comes from.

This is not to say that the coalition is against emissions reductions. As the Leader of the Opposition has stated, the coalition does support emissions reductions. What we are not backing is Labor's move to legislate taxes to reach targets. Our country and its people cannot afford the economic ramifications of stopping major infrastructure development. In my home state, the state Labor government increased coal royalties and this has had major negative impacts across Central Queensland.

Following the Palaszczuk government's decision to create higher coal royalties, BHP suspended its plans to build a new coal mine, causing the loss of $1 billion investment into the region, and 750 construction jobs and 1,200 mining jobs were lost, while BMA, that has delivered $17 billion back into the Queensland economy, has stated they will not make further investments into Queensland. These decisions have dire consequences for the small rural towns that rely on these mines to boost their economy. Nationally, the effects of the safeguard mechanism are already beginning to occur, with Ampol revealing that they will suspend investment decisions worth hundreds of millions of dollars due to Labor's energy policies.

During the coalition's time in government, we supported a carbon trading scheme that allowed businesses to voluntarily reduce their emissions while being rewarded. Labor's changes to the safeguard mechanism will force businesses to buy credits. This is a tax. The safeguard mechanism carbon tax 2.0 is going to drive up living costs at a time Australian workers and families can least afford it. Businesses will be forced to pass the increased cost of production on to consumers through higher electricity prices, higher food bills and higher fuel costs.

During a time when we as a parliament must look at putting downward pressure on inflation, interest rates, cost of living and business, the Labor government is determined to make decisions that will negatively impact the industry and everything that relies on the benefits that resources bring. Our economy is already under the strain of a Labor government, and we are not 12 months into their leadership. Labor do not have tangible solutions to see our country through the cost-of-living crisis. Their only plan is more taxes—taxing the companies that drive the economy, bring investment to the regions and deliver jobs that support families and the community. It is clear that energy intensive companies and agribusiness, transport and mining will be hit. That is why we got rid of the mining tax and the carbon tax.

Day after day the Prime Minister talks about everything but the cost of living—the No. 1 issue Australians are facing. This government has broken multiple promises to ease living pressures and instead has taken actions which have directly placed pressure on interest rates and electricity prices. Families and businesses across Australia are still waiting on the promise delivered 97 times during the election that their electricity bills would be reduced under a Labor government. By the government's own admission, power prices are set to rise by more than 63 per cent, and gas by 40 per cent, over the following two years. Families and businesses cannot afford this. New solutions, not taxes, must occur. The global demand for mineral and energy commodities will continue to accelerate as new technologies are calling for large supply of our resources. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are on the line if the Labor government continues with the regime of punishing the resources sector with taxes. The ones to suffer will be families and communities that greatly benefit from the industry.

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