Mining, gas key in poverty fight, says Matt Canavan

Resources Minister Matt Canavan has made a moral case for the expansion of Australian coal and gas exports.

Resources Minister Matt Canavan. Picture: AAP

Resources Minister Matt Canavan has made a moral case for the expansion of Australian coal and gas exports, noting that fossil fuels have been critical to poverty alleviation and the pursuit of human development goals in the Asia-Pacific.

In a speech to the International Mining and Resources Conference in Melbourne — which was blockaded by climate protesters on Tuesday — Senator Canavan will seek on Wednesday to expose the electoral impotence of the radical green movement, saying it failed to appeal to ordinary Australians at the May 18 election.

“We were told it was going to be the climate change election,” Senator Canavan will say. “That action on reducing emissions was the most important issue for voters. That people didn’t like coalmines and they certainly wanted to stop Adani. All of these things were proven wrong. People want jobs.”

According to an advance copy of his speech, obtained by The Australian, Senator Canavan argues that the “obsession in some quarters with climate change is overshadowing the broader human development goals that we have as a world”.

“These goals include no poverty, zero hunger and decent work, and economic growth … The greater use of high-quality Australian resources gets us closer to every one of these goals.”

He will say that the “most remarkable event in economic history” has been the improvement in living standards in the Asia-Pacific — a feat that he argues has been underpinned by the use of fossil fuels — with more than 2.5 billion people lifted out
of poverty.