Mr CONAGHAN: My question is to the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia. Will the minister inform the House about how the Morrison-McCormack government’s actions in securing our strong mineral export markets are setting the foundation for our continued economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by creating a safer and more secure Australia? And is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

Mr KATTER: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. In six years, all NAIF’s done is extend a JCU building. Minister, you are the hero cutting the Gordian knot, unleashing the locomotive of prosperity. Won’t your NAIF CopperString initiative stop the strangulation of the North West Minerals Province and overcome the crippling effects of diesel generators and a tiny gas-fired power-station monopoly, which create electricity costs crushing what should be the world’s greatest mineral province? Minister, with NAIF’s CopperString, won’t we build the golden pit of prosperity?

Mr O’DOWD: My question is to the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia. Will the minister outline how the Morrison government’s gas-fired recovery through the Beetaloo Basin is supporting the economy and explain how the gas industry is backing workers across regional Australia?

Mr PITT: I say to the member for Chifley: there’s a lot talk about who’s not here. I’m here, Huckleberry! No problems at all. I’m very pleased to be here talking about manufacturing. As someone who actually worked in manufacturing, did a trade in manufacturing—

Mr THOMPSON: My question is to the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia. Will the minister outline how the Morrison government’s plan for economic recovery is backing our minerals industry and its workers across regional Australia, including North Queensland, and is the minister aware of any alternatives?

Anniversaries should be times of both celebration and reflection.
A 101-year anniversary is something else again – proof of resilience, of survival against the odds, and the ability to evolve through changing times.
Our party has an enormous amount to be proud of, and much of that has been discussed during this conference.
And yet this Federal Conference occurs at a time when our Parliament – the central democratic institution of our nation – has hit a pretty low ebb.
As someone who has been self-employed, employed a lot of people and have been in charge of divisions of companies, I’ve always described Parliament House as the strangest place I’ve ever worked in.
But that is not a reason for allowing things to remain the same.
We owe it to you, to our nation to do a lot better.
We cannot accept the unacceptable.
We have to work to a higher standard of personal responsibility than other places.

Mr THOMPSON: My question is for the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia. Will the minister outline to the House the work and research Geoscience Australia has been undertaking to support and assist our communities in managing the impact of floods?

Mr PITT: I’ve got to say, I walked into this MPI with the normal expectations, and they’ve been fulfilled by those opposite. Usually you can sit here and listen to a couple of those opposite make a few notes and come forward with some points to push back on what it is they’re putting forward. I made a few notes about what they’re talking about, and all I’ve got is ‘Angus, Angus, Angus, Angus, Angus, Angus, Angus, Angus, Angus’—not a lot; not a lot at all about process, about policy, about what they propose.

Mr CHRISTENSEN: My question is to the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia. Will the minister please outline to the House how the Morrison-McCormack government’s commitment to the resources sector, including coalmining, is contributing towards Australia’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession, and is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

Mr PITT: I want to acknowledge the member for Macquarie, one of the few on that side who have been in small business, I have to say. So congratulations. Having done it myself, I know it’s a difficult road. It is one where, every week, you have to think about where the money comes from in order to pay wages and pay your bills, and it’s one which many Australians take up.