Richard Marles admits attack on coal was ‘tone deaf’

Richard Marles says he was wrong to call a potential collapse of global coal markets “a good thing”.

Richard Marles admits his attack on coal was tone deaf. Picture: Stuart McEvoy.

Incoming Labor deputy leader Richard Marles says he was wrong to call a potential collapse of global coal markets “a good thing,” but will still not back the Adani mine.

Regional Queensland Labor figures are furious that Mr Marles looks set to become federal Labor’s deputy leader unopposed after his comments on coal.

ALP stalwart Robert Schwarten, who worked on Labor candidate and third-generation coal miner Russell Robertson’s unsuccessful campaign for Capricornia, said Mr Marles’s comments ­“absolutely helped wreck our agenda in Capricornia”.

As Anthony Albanese aims to repair relations with north Queensland voters this week, Mr Marles told Melbourne’s 3AW radio his attack on coal was “tone deaf.”

“Well, the comments I made earlier this year were tone deaf and I regret them and I was apologising for them within a couple of days of making them,” he said this morning.

And partly why they were tone deaf is because it failed to acknowledge the significance of every person’s job. I really know this.”’

Mr Marles used an interview on Sky News last February to warn that the future of the industry was under a cloud.

“The global market for thermal coal has collapsed, and at one level that’s a good thing because what that implies is the world is acting in relation to climate change,” the defence spokesman said at the time.

Asked about the Adani mine, Mr Marles said: “There are lots of ways in which you can generate employment, but the important statement here is that no public money is going to be spent on it.”

When asked directly whether he supported Adani today Mr Marles did not give a definitive position. But he said Mr Schwarten “was not being rough” about the damage his comments did to Labor’s election campaign.

“Coal clearly is going to play a significant part of the future energy mix in Australia and it’s clearly going to be a significant part of our economy,” he said.

“And it’s really important that we acknowledge that people who work in the coal industry need to be valued by us and that we thank and celebrate their work. That’s important.

“ Look, people can make their own judgment, but just let me say he’s not being rough in the sense that those comments were tone deaf and I was guilty of it.”