Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The minister can perhaps answer my questions at the same time, if he can find a question amongst that 15-minute filibuster by Senator Cameron just now. I do have a genuine question that the minister may be able to address.

I cannot let it pass by without commenting about Senator Cameron lecturing anybody about alleged lies. We all know, every Australian knows, that Senator Cameron's former leader, Ms Gillard, promised, hand on heart, before the 2010 election there 'will be no carbon tax under a government I lead'. When we suggested that was not true, the then Deputy Leader of the Labor Party, Mr Swan, said that we were scaremongering by even suggesting it. So for Senator Cameron to lecture anybody about alleged lies is just outrageous. And anyone who might be listening to this broadcast should just understand that when they hear from Senator Cameron and from Senator Milne they are full of misinformation, incorrect assertions—anything to scare the Australian public about the decision the Australian public made in September last year. You could not have got a clearer expression of intent from the Australian public. Every Australian knew that the last election was to be a referendum on the carbon tax.

Senator Cameron, I ask you how many senators you lost at the last election. How many members of the lower house did you lose at the last election? Australians knew what they wanted. They voted accordingly. I get disgusted at the filibustering by all speakers so far this morning—apart from Senator Cormann, I might say. It is just an absolute filibuster to ask questions that have been asked dozens of times before. Answers have been given on numerous occasions and this is just a filibuster.

I want to address some serious questions to the minister because this is what the committee stage is about. When Senator Milne talked about QNI she reminded me of something. Is the minister aware of the impact of the carbon tax on Queensland Nickel, in Townsville? This is a metals refinery that employs hundreds of my fellow Australians and, more importantly, hundreds of people in the Townsville district, where I have my office. I know the fear of the workers at QNI around the impact that things like the carbon tax would have on that particular facility. I wonder if the minister can tell me how many people are working at QNI. The minister may not have these details readily at hand. If not, I would be happy for him to take this on notice and perhaps get back to me some other time. I would like to know how many are employed at QNI and what the impact of the carbon price would be. Were there rumours circulating around Townsville that Queensland Nickel would have to shut down because of the impost of the carbon tax on all aspects of that business? Does the minister have any details of the impact on the Townsville community if QNI had had to shut down because of the carbon tax and of the burden on their operations that the carbon tax caused right throughout?

I also ask the minister: is he aware that, in addition to QNI, there is a modern zinc refinery in Townsville run by Suns Metal? One of the big problems with Suns Metal is, again, the impact of carbon tax on electricity and other costs. I wonder if the minister can tell me how many jobs there are at Suns Metal, the zinc refinery in Townsville, and what the impact of carbon tax might be on that particular entity.

I also ask Minister Cormann, along the same line: is he aware that Copper Refineries Pty Ltd operate a copper refinery in Townsville? Is the minister aware of how many jobs are there? How much did the carbon tax impact on the decision of Xstrata-Glencore to eventually phase that out because of the cost of electricity and other costs? I also wonder if the minister would be aware and has any detail of the impact that jobs in those three refineries have on the North Queensland economy.

The minister may not have this information, but I will ask anyhow: is he aware of which union it is that looks after the workers at the copper refinery, at Queensland Nickel and at the zinc refinery? Is he aware if those unions have had anything to say about the impact of the carbon tax on the operation of those three huge employers in the Townsville region?

While I am at it, I ask the minister if he could give me any indication of the loss of jobs in the coalmining industry in the Bowen Basin—again, near where I live—that have resulted from the carbon tax. I ask the minister whether he could indicate whether those job losses are directly related to the carbon tax or the mining tax. I do not want to get into the mining tax—that is a debate for another day—but I just want to know whether the minister has details of the reported job losses. I am not sure whether the minister has that detail. If not, I would be happy for him to take the question on notice. Clearly, there have been reported huge job losses—I know about it from constituents who have spoken to me—in the Bowen Basin coal fields area.

I wonder if the minister would be aware of which union is supposedly looking after the interests of coal miners in the Bowen Basin.

Senator Lines interjecting—

I think one of the Labor senators indicted which union it was. Perhaps the minister will not have to look that up. Perhaps the Labor senators would know that it is the CFMEU. Perhaps they could tell us what submissions the CFMEU made to the Labor Party in relation to the job losses directly as a result of the carbon tax, and perhaps the mining tax as well.

I know the Labor Party have promised, in a pre-election brochure, to abolish the carbon tax, which makes me wonder why we are here, now, filibustering to prevent the Labor Party from being able to vote to abolish the carbon tax as they promised to do. I do not want to join Labor and the Greens in filibustering. I have asked my questions. If the minister is able to provide them I would appreciate answers. If there are some that the minister has to take on notice, I would be happy to get those answers later on.