Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Lazarus is right that our meat industry, our beef industry, is a major employer in our north. Of course, it is not the only industry facing reductions in jobs in North and Central Queensland. The coalmining industry in my area alone has had job losses of 21,000 in the last two or three years—21,000. I have heard before Senator Lazarus call into question the merit of our coal industry and whether it should be supported. If we are going to support employment in North and Central Queensland, we need all industries to thrive. We need a diverse economy. We need a strong beef sector. We need a strong coalmining sector. We need a strong tourism sector. That is why the government is focused on initiatives like our north Australia plan, which is seeking to invest in all of those industries—more than $1.2 billion of initiatives, a $5 billion low concessional plan. That is how we are going to create jobs in North Queensland and across our entire economy.