LNP bid to censure Jackie Trad over her collapsing coal market claim

Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad must be formally investigated for misleading parliament, the LNP says.

Queensland Treasurer Jackie Trad. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad must be ­investigated for misleading parliament over claims her state's thermal coal markets were collapsing, the ­Liberal National opposition says.

In comments that were slammed by the CFMEU coalmining union, the Queensland Treasurer last month said global markets were “moving away from thermal coal” and communities that traditionally relied on mining needed to “re-skill” their workers.

This was despite International Energy Agency projections that global demand for thermal coal would remain stable through to 2023, with surging demand in Australia’s region offsetting falls across Europe and North America.

Opposition mines spokesman Dale Last wrote to Speaker Curtis Pitt on Friday, urging him to refer Ms Trad’s comments to parliament’s ethics committee.

“As the Treasurer of a state that relies upon $3.8 billion in coal royalties every year to top up the coffers, claiming that export ­demand for Queensland’s coal has declined is simply untrue and should be called out,” Mr Last told The Australian.

“The Premier tasked Jackie Trad as Treasurer to find out the facts on the future of thermal coal and it’s clear the facts didn’t line up with Jackie’s hard-green, anti-coal agenda.’’

Ms Trad’s spokesman declined to comment or provide updated information about the progress of a Labor-commissioned study of long-term coal demand that was promised in 2017.

In parliament on February 26, Ms Trad said: “The fact is markets are moving away from thermal coal; communities are moving away from thermal coal; nation states are moving away from thermal coal. What we need to do as a coal exporter is to understand that and equip our communities with the best possible chance of re-skilling.”

With parliament set to resume today, mining giant Adani was last night fined $13,055 for spilling floodwater from its Abbot Point coal port north of Bowen during February’s record-breaking deluge.

Adani’s spokeswoman last night insisted the wetlands were “not harmed” by the release.

“Despite this extreme weather event, our team ensured that no floodwater entered the Great ­Barrier Reef Marine Park, there was no environmental harm to the Caley Valley Wetlands, and the ­elevation in total suspended solids was a fraction of the levels usually found in flood events,” she said.

Comment was sought from the state Environment Department, which is evaluating new evidence provided by Adani on its plan to protect the endangered black-throated finch while developing its mine.

Green activists have argued demand for Adani’s coal would dry up in a few years, leaving the coalmine as a “stranded asset”.

In December, the International Energy Agency said coal would contribute 25 per cent of the ­global energy mix in 2023, compared with 27 per cent in 2017.

“While global coal demand looks set to rise for the second year in a row in 2018, it is forecast to remain stable over the next five years, as declines in Europe and North America are offset by strong growth in India and Southeast Asia,” it said.

The Queensland Resources Council said this month the state was well placed to withstand any global downturn in thermal coal.