Perin Davey (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on this disallowance motion. What is clear here, listening to the Greens, is that jobs don't matter. Irrespective of everything else, jobs do not matter, especially jobs in the Northern Territory.

I'd like to start by acknowledging the remarks from my colleague Senator Sam McMahon, who spoke on this issue recently. As a Senator for the Northern Territory, Senator McMahon has been on the ground. She has been working with her constituents. She has been working with the traditional owners up there to understand the issue and to find out what it actually means for the people of the Northern Territory. What she has heard is that they don't want to be told what to do by a Greens senator from a capital city. I commend Senator McMahon for being a great voice for her constituents on this issue, and I speak in support of her position, which is based on the conversations she's had with those people on the ground.

Going to jobs, developing the Beetaloo sub-basin has the potential to create 6,000 extra jobs in the Northern Territory by 2040. As a nation coming out of COVID, we know that we need to rebuild our economy. But, to do so, we can't just be boosting public services and bureaucracies; we need private enterprise. We need industry, and that is what developing the Beetaloo basin will create. The Northern Territory should not have to thumb its nose at 6,000 potential new jobs. The Northern Territory should welcome 6,000 potential new jobs.

The development of this basin will also see an extra $173.6 million towards a Roads of Strategic Importance corridor, which is expected to create 400 new jobs. Importantly, it's also going to improve transport and safety across the Territory, because lives matter. The development will also support a whole range of new industries in the Northern Territory, including refining and petrochemicals, methanol production and hydrogen production. Hydrogen is what everyone is clamouring about, because hydrogen is a potential new source of stored energy, which is fantastic. But, as we transition towards green hydrogen, the obvious first step is blue hydrogen, and blue hydrogen needs gas. On top of all of this—and this is very important—new industry, new jobs, new production, $2.2 million is going to the Northern Land Council to support effective engagement with traditional owners and to ensure that they continue to be consulted.