Lone Labor MP recognises importance of mine
AUGUST 20, 2015: STRONG support for the $16.5 billion Carmichael mine project in Central Queensland from Labor’s key resources spokesperson has been hailed as a win for the workers of Central and North Queensland.
MP’s call to stop court action against jobs heeded by AG & PM
MY call for a legal counter-offensive to stop extreme green groups from taking job-creating projects to court has been heeded with both the Attorney General and the Prime Minister agreeing that action needed to be taken.I spoke to the Attorney General George Brandis shortly after the Carmichael mine approval was overturned in the courts at the instigation of an extreme green group.I told him that it was unacceptable that groups that had nothing to do with this project were able to hold up and try to kill off jobs by waging warfare through the legal system.In an interview on Sunday the Attorney General said he wanted to stop such ‘vigilante litigation’.
State holds up flow of jobs at Abbot Point
JOBS that would have been created at Abbot Point will be on hold this year because the State Labor Government continues to drag the chain on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the port expansion.I have been advised by Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt that the State government had not submitted an EIS for the port expansion despite State Mines Minister Anthony Lynham claiming on ABC radio today that the EIS had been lodged with the Commonwealth.This unacceptable delay by the State Labor government has cost jobs this year and these are jobs so desperately needed right now by communities across North Queensland such as Mackay, Bowen and Townsville.
Nats call for ban on green court action
UNDER a stance taken by the National Party at a meeting in Rockhampton yesterday, the Mackay Conservation Group would not be allowed to challenge job-creating projects such as the Carmichael Mine in the courts.Why should a group which is not directly impacted by the establishment of a mine have so much to say about the value of a projectThese self-styled guardians should have no authority before the courts.
Jobs for region is top priority for Nationals
IN a meeting of the Nationals Party Room in Rockhampton yesterday, Member for Dawson George Christensen spearheaded a move to affirm the party’s position on a range of issues pertaining to jobs.The position statement, which covered regional investment and job assistance programs through to controversial matters such as foreign workers and 100% FIFO, was adopted jointly by the Nationals and a statement was issued by the party leader, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss.The statement spelt out in clear terms that the Nationals support Australian workers getting Australian jobs, and only when it can be proven that there are no available Australian workers to fill job vacancies should foreign workers be considered.It also affirmed the Nationals’ stance that companies locking workers out of jobs based on where they live amounted to geographic discrimination; Central Queensland workers should always have the ability to apply for Central Queensland jobs.
State Labor funding green activists to destroy jobs
THE State Labor Government needs to explain why they have given Mackay Conservation Group $5 for every job they kill off for workers desperate for employment.There are some serious questions which need to be answered by the Palaszczuk Government regarding their $50,000 donation to Mackay Conservation Group in the wake of the latest delay to Adani’s Carmichael Coal Project.The Premier of this state needs to explain why she wants to fund a group who are hell-bent on destroying the biggest job-creating project on the table.
Legal counter-offensive needed to save jobs
THE predictable extreme green tactic of mounting legal challenges to derail coal projects and stop the flow of jobs needs to be eliminated with a legal counter-offensive.I question the authority of those mounting court actions which currently hold seven Queensland projects to ransom, costing an estimated $1million a day in lost production.Who gives these self-styled guardians of the environment the authority to mount these court challenges which have been going on for more than two years?
Disunity over Labor's promised power price hike
23 JULY 2015: Labor leader Bill Shorten’s promise to raise electricity prices has driven a wedge between himself and the unions, with the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) issuing a warning against the move.
Greenpeace has questions to answer
Tomorrow's visit by professional eco-terrorist group Greenpeace will be an opportunity for the activists to explain their position that jobs for North Queenslanders don’t matter.
Extreme green antics and the effects on Bowen
Bowen Chamber of Commerce president Bruce Hedditch reckons the Bowen community has had enough of the antics of green activists who sought to use the Abbot Point expansion project for their own ends. Here’s what he had to say:“The community is very upset with what’s happening with the delays. They’ve been going on for such a long time and we seem to be a political football when it comes to Abbot Point. This is not about Abbot Point - it relates purely to coal development.“They’re telling mistruths. It’s about time those people stepped aside; they’ve had a fair go with their objections to the development, and they’ve been defeated every time.
Agriculturalists fall victim to green activist groups
THOSE in the cane industry have also fallen victim to attacks by green activists on numerous occasions in recent years. Another recent attack from the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) again pointed the finger at “polluted run-off from agriculture”. However those most closely associated with the industry can point to significant change in practices which not only serve to protect the natural environment but also produce better outcomes for growers.
Green activists killing jobs on your taxes
Anti-coal activists are attacking jobs and industry and they are doing it at taxpayer expense. A Federal Government inquiry will investigate how green groups are able to take advantage of a tax privilege to prosecute their ideological agendas.If you care about jobs in Mackay and Bowen and further afield, if you care about projects that will inject huge amounts of money and confidence back into our region, then you should also be rightfully angry about the actions of these extreme greens. They pretend they’re saving the reef, but it’s not about the reef at all. It’s about destroying the coal industry, and your jobs and our economy along with it.