George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

We certainly will not be calling for a moratorium on new coalmines, Senator Di Natale, because we support coalmines. We support coalmines; we support the coalmining industry; and we and some, though not all, elements of the Australian Labor Party support the development of the Carmichael mine by Adani, and we wish to see it go ahead.

As I have said to your colleague Senator Waters, who represents the state of Queensland, as do I, this is a project of immense importance to people in Central Queensland. It is of immense importance. If you have travelled to Central Queensland, as I do from time to time and have done very recently, you would understand how important the Adani development of the Carmichael mine is to those people.

Our projections have been reliable. In fact, we have erred on the side of caution, which is why I was able to point out to Senator Reynolds in response to her question that we in fact will exceed our target by 28 million tonnes. We will exceed our target by 28 million tonnes. (Time expired)