Shayne Neumann: Adani warns Palaszczuk — listen to voters

Adani praises Queensland voters for supporting it at polling booths and warns Annastacia Palaszczuk to start listening.

Shadow Immigration Minister Shayne Neumann has blasted the Palaszczuk government’s handling of the Adani coal project. Picture AAP.

Mining giant Adani has praised Queensland voters for voicing their support for the Carmichael mine project at polling booths and warned Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk she needed to start listening to her constituents or face defeat at next year’s state election.

The Adani issue was a major vote-winner for the Liberal National Party, which increased its vote in mining electorates in regional Queensland, turning once-marginal seats into Coalition strongholds.

Federal Labor suffered a crash in its primary vote and now doesn’t hold a seat north of Brisbane, prompting warnings from state Labor MPs and party stalwarts that Ms Palaszczuk and her deputy Jackie Trad needed to heed the message sent by regional voters.

A series of 11th-hour state reviews of Adani’s environmental approvals by the Palaszczuk government — backed by Ms Trad and her Left faction — is being blamed by federal ALP insiders and state MPs for Labor’s thumping.

But Ms Palaszczuk and Ms Trad have refused to accept the delays contributed to Labor’s poor result.

Adani Mining chief executive Lucas Dow said the wave of support expressed at polling booths had been overwhelming.

“If the Queensland Labor Premier and Deputy Premier take nothing else from this weekend, let’s hope they realise it is time to start listening to the people of Queensland,” Mr Dow said.

“Even after the weekend’s election, where Queenslanders had their say, the Premier and Deputy Premier still have a tin ear to their own voters

“They refuse to hear the concerns of people wanting them to back the Queensland mining industry, back regional communities, and stop shifting the goal posts.

“When there is an opportunity like the Carmichael Project ready to deliver thousands of jobs tomorrow in a manner that is both commercially and environmentally responsible, people cannot fathom why the Queensland Labor Government would want to hold that up.” Mr Dow said people living in mining communities throughout Queensland were tired of being dictated to by southern politicians and had expressed their disdain for comments made by Ms Trad in Parliament, telling coal miners they needed to re-skill.

“Queenslanders are sick of people telling them that they should be embarrassed and ashamed of what they do, when they should be heralded for working to the highest environmental standards and bringing prosperity to the nation,” Mr Dow said.

“People right across regional Queensland told us they were outraged to hear the Deputy Premier telling an entire industry and our biggest exporter to re-skill and get new jobs.

“They do not understand the Queensland Labor Government’s continued efforts to tarnish the work of Adani Mining, which has been held to the highest level of scrutiny over the past eight years of planning and demonstrated its capability to operate as one of Australia’s leading mining companies.”

Mr Dow accused the Palaszczuk government of “continued efforts to delay and undermine the delivery of the Carmichael Project”, despite waving through approvals on other projects without the same level of scrutiny.

“As evidenced by this weekend’s election results, Queenslanders have no tolerance for political actions that are unjust and put people’s livelihoods at risk,” he said.

“It’s time for the Queensland Labor Government to stop shifting the goal posts and let us get on with delivering these jobs for regional Queenslanders.”

Neumann: Adani helped us to catastrophe

Shayne Neumann has blasted the Palaszczuk government’s handling of the Adani coal project. Picture: AAP.

Earlier, federal opposition frontbencher Shayne Neumann blasted the Palaszczuk government’s handling of the Adani coal project, saying it contributed to Labor’s poor result in Queensland.

The Immigration spokesman, who appears to have fought-off a boost in the One Nation vote to hold onto Labor’s only remaining Queensland regional seat in Blair — based around Ipswich and the surrounding semi-rural areas — also said voters feared Bill Shorten’s tax agenda as “an attack on their aspirations and financial security’’.

Mr Neumann said the federal opposition now needed to rethink policy and listen to Queenslanders, where its primary vote crashed to 27.3 per cent — its worst result in decades.

“It is a catastrophic result in Queensland for Labor,’’ he said.

“When Labor does well in Queensland, such as in 2007, we form government and when Labor does poorly in Queensland, it doesn’t form government.

“There were problems in messaging, in policy and our campaign.

“Queenslanders are generally conservative but they are a pragmatic, practical people.

“And they saw our policies, in terms of franking credits, capital gains tax and other changes as an attack on their aspiration and financial security.’’

Mr Neumann said Scott Morrison’s “muscular Christianity’’ also played well in Queensland, particularly in Liberal-held marginal seats like Bonner.

The veteran MP first won his seat off the Liberals in 2007, and has managed to hold onto his electorate across four elections — including three polls where Labor suffered a statewide fall in their primary vote.

Mr Neumann said the Palaszczuk Government’s indecision and forced delays with the Adani coalmine in central Queensland had been damaging to federal Labor.

He said the government needed to make a decision.

“The Queensland government didn’t help in any way,’’ he said.

“They need to make a decision on the Adani project, they can’t procrastinate anymore, Queenslanders need certainty, they require that for regional and rural Queensland.’’

Mr Neumann said he would support fellow Queensland Labor MP Jim Chalmers for any leadership role.

“I think it is important we have Queenslanders on the frontbench and in leadership roles,’’ he said.