ADDRESS TO PARLIAMENT - MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS - RESOURCES SECTOR

During COVID, when the nation largely shut down, there were two sectors in particular that kept the lights on, kept exports going and kept our nation's economy afloat. They were agriculture and resources. All too often in this place—and elsewhere, for that matter—the resources sector is demonised, particularly by those opposite. Whilst I appreciate that the Minister for Resources, the member for Brand, made a statement on resources, which was an important speech, and whilst she talks up the resources sector in question time—and good on her for that—there's not a lot of solidarity amongst those opposite who talk out of one side of their mouth about the resources sector in this place and talk out the other side of their mouth whenever they are talking about it to constituents in their electorates.

I do not earnestly believe that those opposite understand what role digging things up out of the ground truly plays in our country. But don't just take my word for it. Tania Constable, Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Council, said on 9 February this year:

Mining continues to support jobs, the economy and government spending on essential services during difficult times for Australian families.

Trade data for 2022 reveals record export revenue which will generate substantial tax and royalty returns, higher wages and strong regional communities.

She talked about the country areas that would, but for the resources sector, be largely ghost towns. Kanowna—a little place in Western Australia not far from a major Western Australian resource capital, which the member for O'Connor proudly represents—is indeed now a ghost town. A hundred years ago it was a thriving place. Once the resources were exhausted in Kanowna, the people went away and the town became a place with nothing more than tumbleweeds rolling down the once-paved streets. What we don't want to see under those opposite is policies that are going to lead to many more once-vibrant resource towns become nothing but places for tumbleweeds blowing down what were once busy main streets.

We want to see our resources sector continue to employ hundreds of thousands of people. Indeed, the resources sector directly employs more than 270,000 Australians. Its indirect employment is more than 700,000, over and above those numbers of full-time equivalents. The sector paid more than $37.2 billion in wages and salaries last year. That's straight into Australian households. That's straight into the pockets of hardworking Australians. Even those in capital cities enjoy the benefits of having a strong resources sector. You can often find many of them at protests against the resources sector. You can often find many of them outside the confines of this place on any given sitting day protesting about coal and gas, protesting about the very industry that keeps their lights on and keeps their coffee percolator boiling of a morning.

Mr Chester: Who would do that?

Mr McCORMACK: Well, the Greens would do that. The member for Brisbane and his colleagues would do that, Member for Gippsland. I don't want to single him out—I just did! But the Greens want to completely destroy our mining sector, and yet the mining sector has done great things for our nation. The mining sector has been demonised and criticised so unfairly by the Greens and others, including almost all of those opposite. The mining sector is set to deliver $459 billion in export earnings over 2022-23, strengthening our budget and delivering funding for roads, schools and hospitals right across the country. Our nation could not do without the mining sector, and yet the mining sector cops so much unfair criticism. It's a sector which makes up over 13 per cent of our GDP and pays over $68.6 billion in company tax.

We so often hear those jealous beings who go on and on about how mining companies don't pay enough tax and mining magnates don't contribute. And yet the mining companies, and the people who put on hi-vis and helmets with torches on top—and not only them but those who work in administration, in white-collar jobs associated with the mining industry—do so much for our nation. But for them, we couldn't keep the lights on and we wouldn't be able to pay for all the state schools and public hospitals. The mining sector helps to underpin those things.

Speaking of underpinning, it was the mining sector which helped this nation continue to have a good books balance during COVID-19, when just about every other industry shut, when just about every other industry closed its doors, and everybody, Greens included, pulled the doona up and thought, 'Let's just ride this out.' It was those people who donned the high-vis vests—and those who went into the shearing sheds—and worked like they always do who helped this country out of the mire that we were in.

Tania Constable, in her February speech, mentioned the statistics. In financial year 2022, coal contributed $141 billion. It was up 123 per cent. Iron ore contributed $123 billion, and gold contributed $23 billion—and a shout-out to the goldmining efforts at Lake Cowal, near West Wyalong in my electorate, and also Northparkes mine. Aluminium—alumina and bauxite—also contributed significantly, with $15 billion, up 14 per cent, and copper contributed $12 billion. These are big numbers. These are big employers. They should absolutely be lauded by those opposite, but the government come here and they have two faces. They'll take the money and use it on their programs—and good on them. They're the government now. They're in government shore to shore on mainland Australia.

I look with great anticipation to see if the government will continue to do such things as paving the Outback Way. The Outback Way is Australia's Route 66, Australia's longest shortcut—2,719 kilometres, linking up Laverton in WA and Winton in Queensland. Winton, of course, is famous for being where Banjo Paterson wrote 'Waltzing Matilda', is famous for Qantas and is famous as an outback Queensland community. That Outback Way is going to help our mining community. We had a pathway to fully seal that road. I hope that those opposite recognise and acknowledge important roads—not just the Outback Way, but roads in the Beetaloo basin, the Bowen Basin, the Galilee Basin and in all of those rich mining areas that are going to prove so beneficial in the future. Whether it's Kalgoorlie—and I mentioned Kanowna earlier—or any of those other amazing and remarkable mining communities in Western Australia and right across this country, certainly in Queensland, they have led the way. They have helped pay for the significant debt that we incurred during COVID.

But what did that significant debt do? I hear those opposite so often say: 'What did we get for the money? What did we get for the debt?' They talk about a trillion dollars worth of Liberal Party debt. It's nowhere near a trillion dollars, but I'll tell you what the debt enabled us to do. It enabled us to keep 55,000 Australians alive, and, if ever there was a good investment to make during COVID, it was in keeping Australians alive. When we were confronted with the possibility that up to 55,000 Australians were going to die in the first few months of COVID, they were worrying times. We put in place the policies to keep Australians alive and safe, and to make sure we kept industries such as agriculture and mining going. It was mining and agriculture, and the regions, and country Australia, and rural and regional and particularly remote Australians, that kept this nation safe and kept the lights on—and good on them for doing it! Thank you to the mining industry.