Adani project won’t happen under Labor

JUNE 1, 2016: WORKERS in Central and North Queensland keen to see jobs flow from the Adani Carmichael Coal Project can be assured of one thing from a Bill Shorten led-Labor Party; it’ll never happen.Bill Shorten gave the latest clear indication that he wanted the Adani Carmichael Coal Project to go away during a radio interview this morning.Shorten was asked up to five times whether the Labor Party supported coal mining, and the Adani Carmichael Coal Project in particular, and the short answer is they don’t.Bill Shorten could not bring himself to voice support in any way, shape or form for the Adani project, and his response on the coal industry in general, which was dragged out of him after the fifth attempt by the interviewer, was lukewarm.Following the second direct question on support for Adani, Bill Shorten said: ‘You ask do I support it? It's not up to me. To support a particular business enterprise.’We did get the pitiful assurance from Shorten that ‘if the Labor Party is elected to the government on July 2, there will still be coal mining on the July 3’.This is cold comfort, and inspires no confidence in Labor’s commitment to the industry which underpins Queensland’s economy.My response to Bill Shorten is ‘we know you can’t shut down the industry overnight Bill, but just how much damage could you do in a year?’Bill Shorten’s dismissal of the coal industry on 612 ABC Brisbane radio this morning followed more comments demonising the industry on Tuesday.The Labor leader gave validity to the wild claims of ‘environmentalists’ rather than stand up for the workers of Central and North Queensland.The viability of the Adani Carmichael Coal Project is not in doubt; that’s why both the Federal Government and the State Labor Government have approved it.But Bill Shorten placed it clearly on the record that he is questioning the viability of coal projects generally, and the Adani coal rail and port project in particular, by saying ‘we’ll (Labor) be guided by what the experts have to say about the environmental conditions’.Mr Shorten was then asked directly whether a key component of the Adani project, the Abbot Point coal terminal expansion, was viable and his reply was: ‘Well there’s a lot people who say it is but of course there are some environmentalists that have a different view’.This follows Bill Shorten’s earlier declaration in Mackay that ‘The Commonwealth Government I lead wouldn’t be putting taxpayers’ money into the Adani mine’ and comments from his Parliamentary Secretary Terri Butler who has proclaimed ‘I don’t support the Adani mine either I’ve got to say’.Bill Shorten and the Labor Party want the Adani Carmichael Coal Project to go away, and if they get a shot at government you can bet your bottom dollar that one of the first orders of business will be to stop the project and deny this region a huge jobs and economic boost. INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS:612 ABC BRISBANE - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1.Steve Austin (ABC): Does the Australian Labor Party support coal mining?Bill Shorten: Ah, yes, we think coal mining is part of the energy mix going forward but we also support putting greater investment into renewable energy. The truth of the matter is the world is reaching a tipping point in terms of climate change. We have to act to be able to restrain the increases in temperature which are under way and leading to extreme weather events and the very harmful effect that has on our economy. So we need to focus a lot more on re new able energy-Austin: Do you fully support the Adani coal mine here in Queensland, which is - Adani coal mine here in Australia Queensland, which will be the biggest coal mine and export very clean Queensland coal to India?Shorten: Whether or not the Adani coal mine goes ahead will be up to the investors of Adani.Austin: But does the Australian Labor Party support it?Shorten: You ask do I support it? It's not up to me. To support a particular business enterprise. What I do say is that, under a Labor Government, coal mining will still go on. What I also say is that we won't be expending any Commonwealth resources on the Adani mine.Austin: I ask that because you say you support coaling or the Labor Party supports coal mining. Terry - Terry Butler your member in Brisbane does not support coal mining.Butler: I don't support the Adani coal mining. Our State Parliament didn't have much discretion, they were using laws amended by the Newman government.Austin: Can you clarify for me, does the Labor Party support or not support coal mines like Adani.Shorten: If the Labor Party is elected to the government on July 2, there will still be coal mining on the July 3. A Commonwealth government I lead will not be investing any money in Adani coal mine.Austin: There are a large number of employees or families of people throughout Queensland that earn their living from coal mines and mining. A large part of your support base comes from coal mining in this place or mining generally. Today in the paper the Resources Council is calling for them to vote against the Labor Party if the mining industry is demonised by the very people that they think they support at the moment. What is your response to that? Are you worried about Queensland Resources Council doing that? Making that call, I'm sorry.Shorten: Please plenty of agendas from the Queensland resources Council but to go –Austin: But they're going to your heartland, the workers in the mines of Queensland. What is left of them.Shorten: Well, my whole background is standing up for blue collar workers. I have never been anti-mining but what I also know, coal mining will continue if Labor gets elected. We need coal to make steel, for example, I live in the real world. But what I am not going to do is stand here and be backward on the issue of climate change. The truth of is matter is we need to modernise our electricity generation. The truth of is matter is we do need to be part of the renewable energy investment surge across the world. The world added 2 million jobs in renewable energy in the last two years but only amongst the bottom of all of the world though in adding renewable energy jobs came Australia. Australia is not used to being the last in the world or down the bottom. We lost over 2,000 renewable energy jobs.Austin: We lost 22,000 jobs in mining here in Queensland in the last 12 months to two years.Shorten: That is right. And what has the Liberal government done in Canberra about helping these displaced people? Not very much at all. What we need is proper infrastructure projects which generate blue collar jobs. Your very first question to me is what hope do we offer. I made it clear that I want to see blue collar jobs and nation building jobs such as cross river rail. INTERVIEW in CAIRNS– Tuesday, May 31.Reporter: Mining and resources is one of the main income generators in this region, in CQ. Will your government commit to the Abbot Point expansion and the Carmichael coal mine?Shorten: First of all the mining industry is experiencing a real global turn down, as commodity prices have fallen. You know, my heart goes out to the increase unemployment or the increased number of unemployed people as we’ve see the mining industry contract. Also I have to say when talk about people who are full time unemployed, I want to put a plug in your ear that Labor is very committed to the concerns of contractors, casual and people who are insecurely employed. One of the big issues that I’ve heard from workers this morning is their concern about casualization of jobs in the region, so when it comes to the future of mining, mining and coal does have a strong future in Australia, absolutely. But Labor will always be guided by the best science and the best processors. So we absolutely see a strong future for our resources sector but want to make sure that the best possible analysis, the best possible business studies are done in terms of the profitability, the best most rigorous evidence is gained. So we’ll be guided by what the experts have to say about the environmental conditions, about the viability of these projects going forward.Reporter: So is the Abbot Point expansion viable?Shorten: Well there’s a lot people who say it is but of course there are some environmentalists that have a different view.