Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

The report also does point out that our mining sector is a large user of energy and relies on affordable energy supplies to continue. We often think of our mining sector in terms of the export revenues it provides, and we export, say, 90 per cent of our coal at the moment, but, of course, that 10 per cent we keep here helps keeps the lights on, helps keep affordable power for businesses around our country, and we should recognise the importance of that as well. Those states in our nation that turn their back on resources like coal pay the consequences of doing so. Because South Australia decided not to have black rocks, they got blackouts. Those blackouts have cost the South Australian economy $367 million. We learnt today that they could have saved all this if they had spent $25 million to keep the lights on and keep the coal-fired power stations going, but that is what you get with a Labor government. You get the lights going out and you get the budgets blowing out.