Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the comments made by my good friend Senator Susan McDonald in defending the regions of Queensland. This was, I must say, the first Senate select committee I had the privilege to serve on. I hope things go uphill from this point on. Under the chairmanship of Senator Richard Di Natale, we are left with a report that has absolutely no recommendations whatsoever. Why? Because the position of the Greens in relation to a range of matters was too extreme for even the Australian Labor Party to support. Senator Susan McDonald and I came to the view that the report which has been tabled did not adequately reflect the evidence which was presented to the Senate select committee—in particular, the importance of the mining industry, the agricultural industry and the tourism industry to the state of Queensland. This is fundamental for us. It is one of the fundamental reasons why I put my hand up to this serve in this parliament. We will fight every day we're in this place for Queensland's regions.

The first issue with the report, of course, is how to define 'transition'. We're from Queensland, so whenever the Greens and the Labor Party talk about transition, we know that mining jobs in Queensland are under threat. Whenever they use the word 'transition', jobs in Queensland are under threat. The Rockhampton Regional Council, in their submission, stated:

Talk of "just transitions" away from existing out-of-favour industries is interpreted by many as code for "we no longer need regional Australia" and its productive primary industries including resources and agriculture.

That is absolutely correct. Senator Susan McDonald and I absolutely agree with those sentiments conveyed by the Rockhampton Regional Council. We heard evidence from a number of stakeholders with respect to the impact of local communities when coal-fired power stations are closed and when other industries such as the car industry are closed and jobs are lost. The evidence is absolutely compelling. The evidence indicates that only a third of those workers are successful in entering into full-time employment after the closures of their employers, a third move on to part-time and casual work, and a third are left bereft, without any job at all. A third, a third, a third. We don't want this to occur to our regional centres in Queensland, and that is why Senator Susan McDonald and I are so passionate about defending our regions in this place.

You will see in the commentary in relation to this matter that there could be references to what's referred to as the German coal transition. This is a process whereby there has apparently been a transition of around 130,000 workers previously employed in the German coal industry to new jobs. Apparently no worker has been made redundant, and this is held up as the role model for Queensland to follow. People will be able to see this referred to in the majority report. However, Senator Susan McDonald and I say that we are strongly of the view that great care needs to be taken prior to drawing any lessons from the so-called German coal transition and seeking to apply those lessons to regional Australia. In the view of Senator Susan McDonald and I, the notion that an equivalent of the German coal transition could be replicated in Australia is misguided and dangerous. The fact of the matter is, as my friend Senator Susan McDonald has stated, the coalmining and oil and gas industries are absolutely fundamental to our home state of Queensland and to the future prosperity of our nation. They provide well-paying jobs to Queenslanders and they support an array of Queensland communities, so it's extremely disappointing that the Greens and the Labor Party supported this report which is tabled in the Senate today.

As Senator Susan McDonald has alluded to, the International Energy Agency's World energy outlook 2019 states that coal will remain the single largest source of electricity generation in 2040, supplying 25 per cent of generation globally. The committee heard evidence from the Port of Newcastle, the largest coal export terminal in the world. They said:

From a business point of view, our assessment is the next 15 years won't see any significant change. There's a slight uptick if places like Vietnam et cetera keep coming online as strongly as they are. For certainly the next 15 year we expect to see volumes sitting around 160 million and a little bit above.

That's evidence from the Port of Newcastle, the largest export coal port in the world.

The committee also heard about some of the issues with solar and wind power. Perhaps the most telling testimony was heard in Whyalla, home to one of the two remaining steelworks in this country. We heard from the current owners of the Whyalla Steelworks that their proposal to introduce an electric arc furnace will actually cost an extra $129 million because of the reliance in South Australia of the electricity grid on solar and wind—an extra $129 million. We should be trying to increase manufacturing in this country. We should be trying to add value to our resources, rather than putting obstacles in place for those seeking to create jobs and wealth in this country.

We also heard in Whyalla evidence with respect to the Aurora solar energy project. This was interesting, because a number of submitters referred to this project as a beacon for the future of the solar power industry. Some quick research, however, indicated that the project has fallen over. They couldn't get finance. Why is that? Because they've got a project called the Crescent Dunes plant in Nevada, and that has suffered a number of significant technical outages. As a result, it has a variable production history. But you never hear any reservations from the Greens or the Australian Labor Party with respect to solar and wind. You never hear those reservations. The fact of the matter is this country needs stable, secure, base-load energy, and Senator Susan McDonald and I will fight for that every day we serve in this Senate.

There was also talk of implementation of what is quaintly referred to as a national transition authority. As I said earlier, whenever the Labor Party and the Greens talk about transition, in Queensland we know that that means mining and agricultural jobs are in jeopardy. So what is this regional transition authority meant to do? It is meant to facilitate and steer the regions in the right direction with policy signals. Steer them!