Matt Canavan challenges Anthony Albanese to voice Adani coal support

Resources minister Matt Canavan says it’s time for Anthony Albanese to say three simple words about coal.

Matt Canavan, right, has challenged Anthony Albanese to publicly voice his support for Adani. Pictures: AAP

Resources Minister Matt Canavan has challenged Labor leader Anthony Albanese to say he supports the Adani coal mining project during his tour of central Queensland this week.

Speaking to Sky News on Monday Senator Canavan said the trip presented a test for Mr Albanese and the Labor Party.

“They say now they support the export of coal,” he told Sky News. “I haven’t heard Anthony Albanese say three simple words: ‘I support Adani.’”

Mr Albanese’s visit to regional Queensland comes as the Labor Party lays the foundations for policies it will be taking to the next federal election.

Party members are debating how to approach climate change and how ambitious the party should be in relation to its emissions reduction target.

Labor’s ambivalence of coal and the Adani project have been blamed for former leader Bill Shorten’s poor results in regional Queensland and the Hunter Valley, which saw massive swings against the party.

This was backed by Labor’s scathing internal review, which found ambiguous language around the Adani coal mine cost the party votes in coal mining regions.

Mr Albanese told 2GB Radio on Monday the scrapping of coal exports would just lead to more coal being used from other places in the world.

“[It would] likely lead to an actual increase in global emissions because much of our coal is much better quality than is available from the alternatives,” Mr Albanese said. “So, we need to be sensible about the way we examine this. We do need to reduce our use of fossil fuels around the world.”

But Mr Albanese’s comments drew the ire of Greens MP Adam Bandt, who accused Scott Morrison and Mr Albanese of abandoning climate action and valuing coal more than human life.

“Coal is fuelling the fires, coal is fuelling the drought, and coal is fuelling the smoke over Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane,” Mr Bandt said. “If you don’t have a plan to get out of coal you don’t have a plan to deal with the climate crisis. We stopped selling asbestos and we need to phase out coal exports too.”

But Mr Albanese said Australia needs a “sensible” approach to dealing with emissions, arguing coal will be phased out by the market anyway.

“I think, very clearly, it’s obvious to all there won’t be a new coal-fired power built in Australia,” he told 2GB. “The market is indicating that just won’t happen. There’s nothing stopping it at all except for the economics.”