Barry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At 128 kilos, I think that deserves an explanation, Mr President! My question is to the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Senator Canavan. Can the minister advise the Senate of the importance of the resources industry to our economic prosperity?

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

It is a very timely question. I thank the senator for his question, because this week in Parliament House it is Minerals Week. It is a week to recognise how important our minerals and resources sector is. While we all understand how important that sector has become, particularly over the past decade, it is important to stress that it has perhaps never been as important as it is for our economy since at least the days of the gold rushes. That is because of the record investments we have had in this sector over the past 10 years.

It is true that those investments are receding and that they are not as large in our future plans as they were over the past 10 years. But, because of those investments over the past decade, the mining and resources sector has never been, really, as big as it now is as part of our economy. We are exporting record amounts of coal and record amounts of iron ore, and we are about to be the world's largest exporter of LNG.

Today, in fact, up there in Gladstone, near where I live, a sixth train is starting production of LNG. It is their third major project, the APLNG project there in Gladstone. It is part of a revolution in the gas sector, the LNG sector, across the world, and it is happening right here in Australia. In central Queensland and western Queensland, this industry has helped create 20,000 jobs, very important and crucial jobs in that region. It has meant a boost to the Queensland economy of more than $10 billion and a subsequent increase in tax revenues and other economic spin-offs for our economy.

We need this investment in our country. We need it to grow our regional economies. We need it to be able to make sure that we continue to provide the good public services that most Australians expect, and we can thank our strong resources sector for helping to pay for lots of that in our country. It is right and proper that we reflect on how important that is this week at Minerals Week.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator O'Sullivan, a supplementary question.

Barry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister advise the Senate of the importance of the resources industry to energy security?

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

Of course, the vast majority of our resource and energy exports help fuel the world and go overseas, but we should also remember that here in this country more than three-quarters of our electricity comes from domestic coal and gas from this industry. We keep the lights on in this country thanks to those industries.

This government prioritises energy security. It is our top priority to deliver for the Australian people. That is what the Australian people expect. That is why we have established our Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel, to establish a blueprint for energy security. Unfortunately, some governments and some political parties are forgetting that priority right now. Some are trying to play politics with our energy security, chasing unrealistic and unachievable renewable energy targets. I was in South Australia when the lights went off. A Labor government had 14 years to keep the lights on, and once again they failed to balance budgets, they failed to run most economic programs and they failed to keep the lights on for Australians and this country.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator O'Sullivan, a final supplementary question.

Barry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the minister aware of any threats to future resource projects?

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

I want to stress that this government supports investment in our resources sector. We are very supportive of those plans to invest in our sector, and we do everything we can to facilitate those while protecting our environment and maintaining our strong regulatory framework that we have.

Unfortunately, there is an ongoing and coordinated campaign to stop resource investment in this country. It is a campaign that explicitly seeks to disrupt and delay these investments, a campaign which, in these activists' own words, seeks to create breathing space, through legal challenges, to then run a political campaign against this sector and stop these jobs. This government stands against those campaigns. This government believes that we should reflect and listen to the demands of the people in these areas where these resource projects are happening. The traditional owners support projects in these sectors; they want the jobs. The local people want the jobs and investment, and those voices are loud and audible in our thoughts as we support these investments in our resources sector.