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

Jobs are one of the most important benefits from this project, but perhaps the other important benefit is the views of the traditional owners of the land on which the mine will be built. Many of us in this place start our speeches by recognising the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and we should actually live out those statements by respecting the fact that the Wangan and Jagalingou people there do support the development of the Adani Carmichael mine. Two years ago, they met in Maryborough and voted 294 to one in favour of the mine. So if traditional ownership, if native title are going to mean something, it should mean that we respect the views of those people. And once again, Patrick Malone, a Wangan and Jagalingou traditional owner, sums it up best when he says Green activists are happy to maintain the status quo of the Wangan and Jagalingou people of low socioeconomic outcomes while they enjoy jobs, education, housing, et cetera, and, I guess, the electricity generated by coal-fired power stations. And I couldn't have said it better myself.