The irony of all ironies is that Labor members are coming into the chamber to support the gas industry. We just heard the member for Blair talking about the fact that a gas reservation policy apparently has been on their national conference agenda for years and years and years. He talked about the union supporting such a policy for a decade.

Sitting suspended from 18:07 to 18:08

If it were such a priority for federal Labor and the unions, why then, why oh why, didn't they complain to their state colleagues, particularly in Victoria, about the need to drill, baby, drill? In Victoria we've had a situation there for years where the state Labor government, operating out of Spring Street, had this aversion to gas to the point where they demonised the industry for years and years and years. Offshore, onshore—it didn't matter. It didn't matter that we had the CFMEU racking up $15 billion worth of windfall from the infrastructure being spent in that state. If there's one thing that Victorian voters can do on 28 November, it is to get rid of a bad Labor government. It was an Andrews government; then it became, of course, an Allan government; and now it's a Carroll government. But it doesn't matter. They can change the premiers, but they can't and won't alter what that Labor government has done. Whether it's on gas, whether it's on forestry, whether it's on whatever, the Labor government hasn't looked after the interests of Victorians.

I have to say, in New South Wales, too, the Labor governments haven't wanted to drill for additional gas supplies. There are many projects, indeed, in the Pilliga which could be explored and utilised for the nation's benefit.

But I tell you what: there is one person who has never lost sight of what it means to have a good gas policy, and that is the Northern Territory Chief Minister, Lia Finocchiaro. I am a big supporter of that particular leader. Recently, on 22 July in fact, she said that the Beetaloo proposal highlighted the Territory's prominence as the natural hub for data centre development. This is the digital proposal. But more than that, she understands that, whether it's data, whether it's defence—it doesn't matter what—she wants to see development for that particularly progressive Territory. Onsite, gas-fired power generation, utilising what's under the ground at Beetaloo, is going to unlock so much potential for the Northern Territory. Indeed, she understands that you can turn potential into profit. I know, when I was the infrastructure minister and the regional development minister, the efforts that we went to, to help progress what was at Beetaloo. But we were stymied a lot by the then Labor government in the Northern Territory. Fortunately, now we have a Finocchiaro government that wants to see the potential utilised. What we need to see is investment, and more investment, indeed, in getting the Northern Territory the power it needs, to not only make sure that they can get investments for the Northern Territory but also get export opportunities for the Top End and elsewhere in northern Australia.

There was an interesting article in the Australian by Liliana Molina on 23 September, headed '"Economic engine" gas needs policy security, stability'. In that particular article we read that the gas industry is 'one of the country's most consequential economic engines' and that the decisions made about its future will shape the nation's industrial capacity 'for a generation'.

We hear a lot from Labor about its 'made in Australia' policies and its 'made in Australia' sovereign capability. They don't always show the fact that they back 'made in Australia'. You only have to look at what they're doing, by their policies—and certainly in the power space, the energy generation space—to know that they're getting it all wrong. If they aren't getting it all wrong, why is there a need to bail out the alumina sector in Newcastle, in the Hunter? Why is there a need to bail out the steel industry in Whyalla? Why is there a need to bail out the rice industry down in the Riverina, in Leeton, in Finley, in Deniliquin and elsewhere, given their bad water policies, their bad energy policies—their bad policies per se? It is a concern.

We should be a nation pretty much like the United Arab Emirates. I've visited there a number of times to see how that country has taken advantage of the export of the energy, the minerals and the resources that lie under the sand. We've got all of those exports and minerals and all of that energy and potential lying underneath Australia, yet we've had the propensity from that side to not want to do anything about it.

I mentioned Victorian Labor, but you only have to reflect on the very first budget delivered by the Treasurer, the member for Rankin, in which he couldn't even bring himself to use the words 'coal' or 'iron ore'. Instead, he talked about 'the things we sell overseas'. Well, those things that we sell overseas and the good work done by former treasurer Josh Frydenberg helped Labor produce a budget surplus. But for former treasurer Frydenberg and the things we sell overseas, we would be in a far worse economic condition than we are now, and I have to say it galls me greatly when I hear of Labor talking up a trillion dollars worth of debt. That's what we have now under those opposite.

When they inherited the economy in May 2022, it was on the back of COVID-19, which had such a huge effect not only on our economy but on economies right across the world. We know that. But what former treasurer Frydenberg, former prime minister Scott Morrison and the executive team, including, dare I say it, me, did at that time was protect jobs and save lives. Yes, it cost a lot of money, but we kept the doors of business open, we kept the wheels of the economy turning and, most importantly, we kept Australians alive. But that seemed to have been forgotten by the Treasurer, who continually talked about the trillion dollars worth of debt. It wasn't a trillion dollars worth of debt; it was nowhere near a trillion dollars worth of debt. I think he was just making excuses and justifying his position, knowing that he was going to spiral Australia into a trillion dollars worth of debt, and that's, unfortunately, where we find ourselves now.

I want to get back to this article from the Australian. It quoted Australian Energy Producers chief executive Samantha McCulloch, who said:

… Australia's gas industry is not simply a provider of fuel but also one of the country's most consequential economic engines, and policy decisions over the next 12 to 24 months could shape the nation's energy systems and industrial capacity for a generation.

This next quote is really interesting. She said:

Continued investment in new gas supply is critical to Australia's energy security and economic prosperity, delivering jobs, economic growth and opportunities for regional communities …

She went on:

Developing Australia's abundant natural gas resources requires significant capital over many years, making stable and predictable policy settings critical to investor confidence and Australia's long-term energy security.

That is so important, because the article also mentioned the fact that the industry contributes around $105 billion annually to the national economy and supports—wait for this; this is an important number—215,000 jobs. I dare say a lot of those people would be members of unions, so I can't understand why Labor has demonised this sector for so many years. They have done so at a state level and even federally.

The article continued. Just listen to this:

It buys about $33 billion in goods and services from Australian businesses each year and pays around $6 billion in employee salaries.

In 2024-25, the oil and gas sector paid $21.9 billion in taxes and royalties to federal, state and territory governments …

That is revenue that keeps prices down—imagine if we didn't have the gas sector; goodness gracious—keeps the lights on in many places, keeps schools open, keeps hospitals saving people's lives and making sure that people's health is protected. Those things are important, and I don't understand why Labor members have so often demonised the mining industry. Labor, as Australia's oldest political movement, once supported those people who put on the high-vis vests and went out to work and got the dirt under their fingernails—the people who worked in mines, the people who were proud of the fact that they had a coalmining heritage, the people who came out with dirt on their faces and sweat on their brows and worked for a living. But that was when the Labor Party had the U in its name. Unfortunately, the Labor Party has forgotten about you. And when I say 'you', I'm referring to those workers. I'm referring to those people who do work in mines. Of course, these days the Labor Party is just l-a-b-o-r. If I'm not mistaken, I think they took the U out of Labor in 1912. But I digress.