Speeches

Mr ALBANESE: My question is to the Minister for Resources and Water. Last week, the minister told question time: ‘Find me a solar panel that works in the dark.’ Is the minister aware that batteries can store renewable energy? And does the minister get a shock when he turns on the tap and water comes out, even though it’s not raining outside?

Mr BOWEN: My question is to the Minister for Resources and Water. Does the minister agree with the New South Wales Treasurer, who said yesterday:
We have some of the best renewable resources anywhere on the planet. Those renewable energy resources can be used to create heavy industry, used to support things like green aluminium and green steel and provide the world’s energy needs in—
a low carbon—
…future.

Ms SWANSON: My question is to the Minister for Resources and Water. BHP, Rio Tinto, Santos, BP and the Minerals Council of Australia all back a commitment to net zero emissions. Does the minister for resources back a commitment to net zero by 2050?

Mr STEPHEN JONES: My question is for the Minister for Resources and Water. What does the government’s modelling show is the economic impact of a commitment to net zero by 2050 for the resources sector?

Mrs ELLIOT: My question is to the Minister for Resources and Water. Does the minister still believe wind, solar and battery technology don’t work and that investment in renewable energy delivers little more than a warm and fuzzy feeling?

Ms MADELEINE KING: My question is to the Minister for Resources and Water. Does the minister support the government providing a $250 billion loan and insurance facility for the resources sector?

Mr PITT: Just to be clear, I won’t be resigning, even though it’s been suggested by the opposition. I get on very well with the shadow minister. She’s actually got her head screwed on, and she understands the industry. She’s across a lot of the brief, and of course there are many things on which we work collegially and we certainly get some good outcomes. In terms of this MPI, I’ll go through the issues, particularly the ones that have been raised, but I do want to bring the focus back to the individuals that work in the sector.

Mr CONAGHAN (Cowper): My question is to the Minister for Resources and Water. Will the minister update the House on how the Morrison-Joyce government is sticking to the national plan and supporting the resources sector in taking advantage of increasing demand for Australian minerals, as we safely reopen? And is the minister aware of any alternative policy approaches?

Mr PITT: I love following the Member for Watson. He’s got a bit of showmanship about him. In some of the workplaces I’ve come from he’d probably get the nickname ‘show bag’, but you can’t have everything!

Mr O’DOWD: My question is to the Minister for Resources and Water. Will the minister update the House on how the Morrison-Joyce government’s commitment to sticking to the national plan will help sectors like the resource sector safely reopen and on what opportunities exist for communities such as mine in Flynn? Is the minister aware of any alternative policy approaches?

Mr CHRISTENSEN: My question is to the Minister for Resources and Water. Minister, will you update the House on how the Morrison-Joyce government is creating jobs in regional communities by undertaking reforms to remove regulation duplication? Is the minister aware of any alternatives?

Mr PITT: It’s not often I get the opportunity to say thank you to the member for Ballarat for opening up a debate like this and, in particular, mentioning something within my portfolio, which is the Beetaloo basin. We know those opposite will go to any lengths to look for mud. They’ll turn over every rock, open every cupboard, go to every dark space. I can say to those opposite: you are barking up the wrong tree. You are barking mad if you think there is an issue in terms of the Beetaloo basin and the support that we are providing. So I say to the member of Ballarat, and I say it here and say it publicly: if you have an allegation to make, step up. There’s a press gallery just over there looking for a story. Step up to them, make the allegation, and say what it is you are trying to intimate.

Mr RICK WILSON (O’Connor): My question is to the Minister for Resources and Water. Will the minister update the House on the strength of the resources sector and the plan that Morrison-Joyce government is implementing to streamline and cut red and green tape through reform so we can create more jobs and support regional communities like those across my electorate of O’Connor? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

Mr PITT: I always enjoy coming to a debate led by the member for Shortland. The member for Shortland is always focused and he’s passionate and he’s disassociated from reality—and he’s also wrong. These are the challenges for the member for Shortland.

Mr O’DOWD (Flynn—Deputy Nationals Whip) (14:59): My question is to the Minister for Resources and Water. Will the minister inform the House how the Morrison government is positioning Australia as a leading supplier of critical minerals and rare earth elements to meet the growing global demand for the new energy technologies required in a modern economy? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

Ms BUTLER: My question is to the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia. When did the minister first become aware of the National Party’s plot to shred the Murray-Darling Basin Plan?

Mr O’DOWD: My question is to the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia. Will the minister update the House on the Morrison-Joyce government’s plans to cut red tape and green tape in the resource sector, creating jobs and supporting regional communities?

Mr THOMPSON: My question is to the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia. Will the minister update the House on the strength of the resource sector and the plan the Morrison government is implementing to streamline and cut random green tape, creating jobs in regional communities? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

Ms SHARKIE: My question is to the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia. On 28 May in Senate estimates the government advised that only 100 gigalitres of water is estimated to be recovered through efficiency measures. With water buybacks now ruled out, exactly how will the government secure the remaining 350 gigalitres committed to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan?

Mr THOMPSON: My question is to the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia. Will the minister outline to the House how the resource sector is contributing to Australia’s economy and how the Morrison government’s support is delivering jobs and prosperity for all Australians?

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.