Labor stalwart’s advice to State Government after federal election
As the Palaszczuk Government Cabinet meets in the wake of the federal election result, another Labor stalwart has weighed in.
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AS the Palaszczuk Government Cabinet meets today in the wash-up of Federal Labor’s shock election result, another party stalwart has weighed in, urging Labor not to let the Greens continue to use Adani to hijack its message on resources.
Former Labor Minister and Speaker John Mickel told The Courier-Mail the Palaszczuk Government had a good story to tell on mining.
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“Why in heaven’s name the Greens have been allowed to, in their great simplistic way, to focus on one mine as being the whole of the Queensland industry is beyond me,” he said.
“It’s a credit to the Greens.
“Don’t let the Greens paint one mine as the whole of the Government’s attitude to mining in Queensland.
“We should be pro mining because we have got a good story to tell.
“It is mining that provides the royalties that pay for the school teachers and the cops and the doctors and the nurses and that cannot be immediately replaced and nor should it be when the coal you are providing is for steelmaking.”
Mr Mickel pointed to the recent announcement of the approval of the billion-dollar Olive Downs coal mine.
“It is a metallurgical mine, that is coal used in steel making,” he said.
“As I understand it the majority of the coal mined in Queensland is metallurgical coal and that’s a proud story to tell because steelmaking cannot be done by solar or anything else.
“It needs to be done by the coal that’s mined in Queensland and processed elsewhere and there’s a proud story to tell on that and the approvals should go ahead and the job opportunities should be lionised for that because there are entire regional centres that depend on mining services and equipment, drive-in, drive-out from places like Rockhampton and probably all up the provincial cities.”
Mr Mickel said the decision of previous Labor Governments to foster the coal-seam gas industry had made Queensland the envy of the nation.
“NSW under the Liberal Government has got a moratorium on gas processing. Victoria is not going to go there. We did. Thank God we did.
“It is now producing export dollars for the nation, payroll tax for the state and royalties for the state. “
He said the investment in two coal gasification trains in Gladstone was the equivalent of the entire Adani investment.
“Let’s see it in context.”
Mr Mickel said the Government should push the Coalition to reward Queensland voters for their decision to give the Morrison Government another term.
“The wheel turns very, very quickly. The Queensland people have been, and I accept, completely generous politically with Mr Morrison’s Government,” he said.
“What I say to the Premier is this, because they have been so generous, we want to see action up here and our generosity to them voting wise rewarded by giving back to the Queensland people in the form of infrastructure, training and job opportunities.”
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