Resources

Key points

Australia’s resources sector has helped power Australia’s economy, including through the COVID-19 pandemic. The sector accounts for around 10 per cent of Australia’s GDP and more than 60 per cent of Australia’s exports. It directly employs nearly 280,000 people and indirectly supports the jobs of some 1.1 million Australians, as well as many communities and businesses across regional Australia.

Australia is uniquely blessed with natural resources. Iron ore, coal and natural gas are Australia's top three commodity exports. Gold, copper, nickel, alumina and aluminium are other major export earners. Technological change is also driving strong demand for critical minerals and rare earths.

With strong policy settings, our resource exports are forecast to reach $425 billion in 2021-22. Only the Morrison Government has a plan to support and grow Australia’s resources sector. Only the Morrison Government can guarantee that we will not put resource industries, regions and jobs that depend on resource industries at risk.

A re-elected Coalition Government will:

• maintain a business environment that supports mining investment and jobs in new resources and energy projects through stable tax settings.
• continue to identify and promote new natural gas basins and mineral provinces for development and support the development of Australia’s greenhouse gas storage potential, which will enable low emissions natural gas production.
• position Australia as a world leader in the exploration, extraction, production and processing of critical minerals and rare earths.
• strengthen our key resource regions through nation-shaping investments, including through our Energy Security and Regional Development Plan and Regional Accelerator Program.
• continue to streamline environmental and planning approvals processes to reduce green tape while maintaining high environmental standards.
• deliver our technology, not taxes, Long Term Emissions Reduction Plan, incentivising the resources sector to adopt new technologies that reduce emissions and increase energy productivity, including Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and renewable energy.
• continue to support exploration to build the pipeline of future resource projects.
• support sensible reforms that reduce regulatory barriers, get major projects up and running sooner and allow business to grow and create jobs.
• back our best researchers, build tighter links between universities and industry and create new products and companies with our $2.2 billion University Research Commercialisation Action Plan.
• identify new markets for our resources exports through our Global Resources Strategy.

A re-elected Coalition Government will:

• drive research collaboration between our universities and the resources industry by establishing the Resources Technology for Critical Minerals Trailblazer at Curtin University with a $50 million investment as part of our Trailblazer Universities program, which supportsinitiatives under our Government’s $2.2 billion University Research Commercialisation Action Plan.
• invest $140 million in the development of two Hydrogen Hubs in Western Australia to accelerate the development of Australia’s hydrogen industry ($70 million in the Pilbara Hydrogen Hub and $70 million in the H2Kwinana Clean Hydrogen Industrial Hub).
• invest in two additional Carbon Capture and Storage Hubs in Western Australia to assist the resources industry in its efforts to reduce emissions ($40 million towards pre-Final Investment Decision activities as part of Woodside Energy’s Burrup Hub and $20 million to Mitsui’s Mid-West CCS Hub).
• invest in two additional critical minerals projects in Western Australia as part of our Government’s expanded $400 million Critical Minerals Accelerator Initiative ($4 million at the Greenbushes lithium plant as part of a project to increase Australia’s production of tantalum and $3.9 million to accelerate the commercialisation of battery-grade graphite).
• introduce legislation to increase the maximum duration of greenfields agreements from four to six years. This will apply only to major projects larger than $500 million, with agreements required to have guaranteed year-on-year pay rises which at least match the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review.
• in consultation with industry, establish a taskforce to examine insurance availability and pricing in the resources industry.

A re-elected Coalition Government will not:

• put in place a mining tax, a carbon tax or make adverse changes in fuel tax credit arrangements so vital to the resources industry.
• force facilities covered by the Safeguard Mechanism to reduce their emissions through a sneaky carbon tax on facilities that support high-wage jobs for Australian workers.
• abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission and cave-in to union militancy.

Our resources sector faces a real threat from Labor whose track record is one of hitting the resources sector with new taxes and back-flipping on their support for resources projects.

• Labor is deeply divided over our biggest industry and can’t be trusted to support coal and gas projects. Labor leaders have flip-flopped on new coal projects, been divided over the Beetaloo Strategic Basin and back-flipped on the Kurri Kurri Gas Project.
• Labor’s industry policy includes a hidden tax on our biggest businesses, many of which are in the resources sector at a time when the sector is leading our economic recovery.
• In a hung parliament, Labor would seek the support of the Greens who would put an immediate stop to all new coal, oil and gas projects, threatening tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars of investment, mostly in regional areas.

Labor has already promised to spend $81 billion more on policies throughout the pandemic. Labor can’t say how they’ll pay for their promises. And they can’t manage money. That means higher deficits and higher taxes.

The Australian people have the choice between the Morrison Government that is delivering a strong economy and a stronger future or Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party that just does not get the resources industry and is too weak to stand up to the Greens and the unions.

Our Plan

1. A world leading supplier of minerals and energy

Australia’s resources sector has enriched the lives of all Australians. It provides the lifeblood of many regional and remote communities and has helped lift millions of people in the Indo-Pacific region out of poverty. The sector accounts for around 10 per cent of Australia’s GDP and more than 60 per cent of Australia’s exports. It directly employs almost 280,000 people and indirectly supports the jobs of some 1.1 million Australians, as well as many communities across regional Australia.

Our globally-significant resources of iron ore, coal, gas, copper, gold, lead, nickel, zinc, silver and uranium remain in high demand. Our reserves of critical minerals and rare earths are increasingly important as vital components in new technologies in industries like aviation, defence, medicine, automation and telecommunications.

Resource industry export earnings are tipped to reach $425 billion in 2021-22, helping to support the living standards of all Australians. Taxes and royalties from the industry are providing vital revenues for governments to fund roads, hospitals, schools and other essential services. Mining jobs, mostly in regional Australia, pay around one and a half times the national average wage. Our Government strongly supports further growth and development of our resources industry based on world-class capabilities.

A re-elected Coalition Government will:

• create the business environment that supports growth of Australia’s minerals and energy sector, building our reputation as a reliable, responsible supplier of resources to the world.
• continue to identify and promote new basins and provinces for development and support further exploration activity.
• promote Australia’s resources sector as the best place to invest based on stable tax settings, streamlined regulatory processes, a flexible and fair industrial relations system and record investments in communities, skills, research and technology.
• continue to deliver our Government’s record $120 billion 10-year infrastructure investment pipeline to improve productivity.
• secure affordable, reliable energy and back technologies to lower emissions in resource operations through our technology, not taxes, Long Term Emissions Reduction Plan for net zero emissions by 2050.
• implement the Global Resources Strategy to identify new markets for our resources exports and expand export opportunities through market-opening trade deals.

2. Growing our critical minerals sector

Australia has some of the world’s largest recoverable resources of several critical minerals, including cobalt, lithium, manganese, tungsten and vanadium. These metals and non-metals are vital to advanced technology like smartphones, computers, solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles.

Our Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy has a vision of Australia as a critical minerals powerhouse by 2030. This strategy will grow our critical minerals sector, expand downstream processing and help meet future global demand. Growing our critical minerals sector will unlock a new generation of high-wage, high-skill, high-tech jobs, many of them in regional Australia, while contributing to our national security.

A re-elected Coalition Government will:

• continue to provide finance to eligible large-scale critical minerals projects where private sector finance is unavailable or inadequate through our $2 billion Critical Minerals Facility. This includes a $1.25 billion loan to Iluka Resources to develop an integrated rare earths refinery at Eneabba, WA.
• use the expanded $400 million Critical Minerals Accelerator Initiative to support new strategically important rare earth and critical mineral projects. Our Government will invest $4 million with Global Advanced Metals at the Greenbushes lithium plant as part of a project to increase Australia’s production of tantalum, a mineral recognised as critical to defence, energy, high-tech industrial and medical sectors. With a co-investment of $15.3 million in the project, this will make Australia an integral part of critical supply chains. We will also invest $3.9 million to accelerate the commercialisation of battery-grade graphite. Working with Mineral Commodities Ltd, this will see the creation of a new business centred on Munglinup graphite mineral resources, with co-investment of $53.8 million and collaboration with CSIRO.
• build on the work of the Critical Minerals Facilitation Office connecting Australian critical minerals projects to investors, regulators, government financing facilities and Australia's strategic partners.
• invest $50 million for a virtual National Critical Minerals Research and Development Centre, drawing together expertise from CSIRO, Geoscience Australia and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.
• strengthen international collaboration in critical minerals with key countries, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, India and members of the European Union.
• invest $50 million to establish the Resources Technology for Critical Minerals Trailblazer at Curtin University. Curtin University will partner with the University of Queensland and James Cook University, as well as 33 industry partners, including 15 small and medium-sized businesses, to secure supply chains, open up new careers and increase research activity at regional campuses. Our Government’s investment will leverage co-investment of $144 million from university and industry partners. The project is expected to create 1,300 new jobs over the next decade through industry employment of researchers and work ready students, an increase in research activity at regional campuses, and new positions created in start-ups launched through the Trailblazer.
• continue to support key critical minerals projects through the $2.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

3. Investing in our mining regions and communities

Australia’s mining regions have long been major economic powerhouses. The majority of the resources industry’s workforce is located outside capital cities and the industry’s growth sustains many towns and communities in regional Australia.

The Coalition Government is investing heavily in projects that will turbocharge our regional mining communities. While continuing to make the most of traditional mining industries, we are positioning our mining regions to seize opportunities in emerging industries such as low-emissions energy, critical minerals, clean hydrogen and advanced manufacturing. We will continue to invest in the essential services that mining communities rely on, including record investment in health, education, mental health and women’s safety.

A re-elected Coalition Government will:

• invest $7.1 billion over 11 years in a nation-shaping Energy Security and Regional Development Plan that will unlock the potential of next generation energy hubs in the Northern Territory, North and Central Queensland, the Pilbara region of Western Australia and the Hunter region in New South Wales. This includes:
  • $1.5 billion to establish the Pilbara region as a major hub for low emissions industries and to open the north-west to future economic development – upgrading Port Hedland’s Lumsden Point and the Port of Dampier, upgrading the region’s power grid infrastructure, supporting low emissions manufacturing and increasing the value-add of iron ore exports and low emissions metals production.
  • $750 million to support the Hunter region’s expansion into new export industries – upgrades to the Port of Newcastle to make it ‘hydrogen ready’ and enabling private sector investment, and funding the New England Highway bypass to Muswellbrook.
  • $2.6 billion for infrastructure projects across the Northern Territory – including $1.5 billion to build new port infrastructure, $300 million to support low emissions LNG and clean hydrogen production at Darwin, and $200 million to further develop the Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct.
• invest $2 billion over five years in a new Regional Accelerator Program to invest in skills, education infrastructure, export market development and supply chain resilience.
• continue to drive investment and development in Northern Australia with increased funding of $2 billion for the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to $7 billion.
• continue to build the infrastructure of our regions by delivering on our Government’s $120 billion 10-year infrastructure pipeline

4. Ensuring affordable and reliable gas supply

The Morrison Government has taken action to get more gas supply into the domestic market and increase competition to drive down prices.

Affordable and reliable gas is a cornerstone of Australia’s sovereign manufacturing capabilities and creating jobs. We will ensure the gas industry has the policy settings and certainty to continue its investment in Australia and employ tens of thousands of Australians.

A re-elected Coalition Government will:

• continue to support the Australian gas industry with investment in planning and early stage development of gas projects and strategic basins.
• provide certainty to the gas industry with our firm commitment to the published net zero by 2050 plan, and commit to making no changes to our 2030 target.
• support the development of carbon capture and storage infrastructure alongside major gas pipelines to enable low emissions natural gas production, including the ability of industry to develop offshore greenhouse gas storage projects to reduce emissions.
• renew the Heads of Agreement with Australia’s east coast gas exporters to keep the cost of gas down and ensure gas is available for domestic industries.
• keep in place the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism enabling the Minister for Resources to act in order to prevent domestic gas shortages.
• release the 2022 National Gas Infrastructure Plan which will ensure we have the critical gas infrastructure needed to get gas out of the ground and into Australian homes and businesses at an affordable price.
• invest $300 million to unlock gas supply in three strategic gas basins (Beetaloo, North Bowen and Galilee Basin, and Cooper-Adavale Basin) and accelerate their development.
• invest more than $108 million to deliver on our gas-fired recovery, including support for critical gas infrastructure projects, CCS pipeline feasibility work and to take forward recommendations of the National Gas Infrastructure Plan in priority regions.

5. Frontier skills, research and technology for the future

Australia’s resources sector is highly skilled, technologically advanced and innovative. The Coalition Government has developed detailed plans to ensure Australia remains at the global mining frontier with a highly skilled workforce, world-class research and cutting edge technologies, including low emissions technologies.

The Coalition is making record investments in skills and training, with a strong focus on apprentices and trainees. Our Government is translating great Australian research into new products and jobs and building tighter collaboration between universities and industry through our $2.2 billion University Research Commercialisation Action Plan.

We want to build on our existing resources sector and create more jobs, with carbon capture and storage and hydrogen promising significant growth and opportunity. We are investing $300 million over the next 10 years in CCS projects and hubs and $1.5 billion in hydrogen and associated infrastructure. Both these technologies can help to cut emissions from energy-intensive industries and build the foundations to expand our resources sector and pursue emerging export industries.

While coal-fired generation will remain critical to our electricity supply, the energy market is changing. We are investing $22 billion in renewables and other clean energy technologies, which is expected to unlock more than $84 billion of total private and public investment to achieve lower emissions, while retaining our energy independence.

A re-elected Coalition Government will:

• support an additional 800,000 training places through a $3.7 billion investment in national skills reform.
• invest $365.3 million to extend the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements and Completing Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidies.
• invest $38.6 million to encourage and support more women to take up an apprenticeship in a non-traditional trade occupation and to support them to completion.
• invest $2.2 billion over the next decade through our Government’s University Research Commercialisation Action Plan to forge closer links between our best university researchers and industry and focus considerable research power on Australia’s National Manufacturing Priorities. This includes our Trailblazer Universities program.
• support development of clean hydrogen hubs across Australia, accelerating the growth of clean hydrogen and creating thousands of jobs supporting this emerging market. Our Government’s commitment to establishing a hydrogen industry now exceeds $1.5 billion. Several specific initiatives include:
  • $70 million in the Pilbara Hydrogen Hub, led by the WA Government and a range of local and international partners.
  • $70 million in the H2Kwinana Clean Hydrogen Industrial Hub, led by BP Australia and Macquarie Corporate Holdings.
  • Hydrogen design and development funding of $3 million each will go towards the Santos hydrogen project in Carnarvon and the Engie hydrogen project in the Pilbara.
• invest $250 million for the design and construction of carbon capture hubs and research and commercialisation of carbon capture technologies to create thousands of new jobs. Several specific initiatives include:
  • $40 million towards pre-Final Investment Decision (FID) activities as part of Woodside Energy’s Burrup Hub. If this project achieves FID, it will drive $800 million of investment and reduce emissions by 5 million tonnes per year from 2028.
  • $20 million to Mitsui’s mid-west CCS Hub. If this project achieves FID, it will drive more than $200 million of investment and reduce emissions by 2.4 million tonnes per year from 2025.
  • $7 million with Buru Energy to assess the potential for CO2 storage in the Carnarvon Basin.

6. Exploring for future prosperity

The Coalition is boosting exploration to uncover and develop new resources, and promoting new opportunities to develop industries in hydrogen and critical minerals by supporting the industry to find new growth opportunities.

A re-elected Coalition Government will:

• continue delivering $100 million for the Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive.
• continue the $225 million Exploring for the Future program.
• provide $224.9 million for the Positioning Australia program, delivering reliable real-time positioning with 3-10cm accuracy across Australia.
• invest $13.7 million to continue CSIRO’s Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance.
• support Geoscience Australia and CSIRO with $14 million to deliver better data about baseline conditions across the basins.

7. Streamlining regulation to get projects moving

Resources projects and operations demand strict, often complex, regulation. Creating an environment conducive to sustained investment requires regulation that is administratively efficient and that meets community expectations and strong environmental standards.Our Government also recognises the challenges some resource companies are experiencing in sourcing financial products, such as affordable insurance.

A re-elected Coalition Government will:

• continue to streamline environmental approval processes while maintaining robust environmental protections.
• invest $62.3 million to deliver 10 bio-regional plans in priority development regions.
• invest $37.9 million to improve the timeliness and support the streamlining of assessment processes, including $10 million to progress single touch approval processes and $27.9 million to continue on-time assessment determinations which have risen to 96 per cent in the last three years.
• provide $28.4 million to support informed decision making, including $12 million to modernise the environmental offsets policy, $9.5 million to improve compliance, $4.9 million to strengthen our knowledge base of protected plants and animals and $2 million to scope a new advisory committee to provide expert industry and technological advice.
• deliver the Digital Atlas, supported by a $40.2 million investment, which will play an important role in major infrastructure planning and help resources businesses to make significant investment decisions.
• legislate the Safeguard Crediting Mechanism, backed by $280 million in funding, to incentivise (not penalise) Australia’s top 200 energy users and producers to voluntarily adopt new technologies that will increase their energy productivity and reduce emissions.
• continue to expand the types of activities that are recognised under the Emissions Reduction Fund, to include carbon capture use and storage and low- and zero- emissions fuels in the transport sector.
• in consultation with industry, establish a taskforce to examine insurance availability and pricing in the resources industry.

8. Greenfields agreements

Industrial relations can play an important role in contributing to the strength of the resources industry. Any changes need to drive jobs and wages growth, boost productivity and strengthen the economy, and ensure protection of employee rights. Our goal is to secure shared gains for employers and workers.

In an industry that competes with other resource-rich countries, that means being able to attract investment capital and to get projects built on time and on budget. Greenfields agreements – an agreement that relates to a new business, activity, project or undertaking prior to the employment of employees – can help provide greater certainty about project costs and timeframes.

According to the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, at the end of October 2021 there were 160 energy and resource projects at feasibility stage in Australia worth up to $243 billion. This provides the opportunity to create tens of thousands of jobs, both in the construction phase and in ongoing mining jobs.Construction jobs pay on average above $90,000 a year, while mining jobs pay on average above $138,000 a year.

A re-elected Coalition Government will:

• introduce legislation to increase the maximum period for greenfields agreements from four to six years. Agreements would be required to have guaranteed year-on-year pay rises, which at least match the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review, and the new timeframe would apply only to major projects larger than $500 million.

9. A plan for managing waste from nuclear medicine

For the first time in 40 years, Australia has a long-term, robust plan to meet our obligations in managing radioactive waste. This is vital to support the essential health services that Australians rely on such as x-rays, nuclear medicine and radiation therapy to treat cancers.

Our Government moved to establish a National Radioactive Waste Management Facility (NRWMF), conducted extensive community consultation, secured a disposal site at Napandee near Kimba, and established the Australian Radioactive Waste Agency to manage radioactive waste.

A re-elected Coalition Government will:

• continue to work with all stakeholders, including the local community, to implement our plan for managing waste from nuclear medicine.

Our Record

Our Government has backed Australia’s resources industry to deliver higher national income, significant new investments, more high-wage jobs, consistent trade surpluses, more revenue for essential services and vital economic activity that supports communities, especially in regional Australia.

Strong and stable operating environment

• Removed the mining tax and carbon tax.
• Maintained fuel tax credit arrangements.
• Streamlined regulatory frameworks and reduced red tape to improve efficiency and create a more efficient, sustainable and safe mining sector.
• Established the Major Project Facilitation Agency and Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.
• Modern Manufacturing Strategy.
• Australian Building and Construction Commission.
• Gas-Fired Recovery Plan.
• Technology Investment Roadmap and Long Term Emissions Reduction Plan.
• JobKeeper.
• Deregulation Agenda.
• Digital Economy Strategy.
• AAA credit rating.
• New market access agreements.
• Record investments in skills, education, health, mental health and women’s safety.

Critical minerals and rare earths

• Developed Critical Minerals Strategy to make Australia a critical minerals powerhouse.
• Invested in commercialisation and scaling up of critical minerals and rare earths projects through the Critical Minerals Facility ($2 billion), the Critical Minerals Accelerator Initiative ($400 million) and the Modern Manufacturing Initiative (almost $300 million committed to resources and critical minerals projects).
• Established the Critical Minerals Facilitation Office in 2019 to connect Australian critical minerals projects with investors and strategic partners and the virtual National Critical Minerals Research and Development Centre.
• Partnerships with key countries such as the United States, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, India and European Union members.

Nation-shaping investments in mining regions

• More than $100 billion in investments committed to Australia’s regions since 2013, with an additional $21 billion in the Morrison Government’s 2022-23 Budget, including:
  • $7.1 billion to turbocharge the economies of our next generation industry and export hubs.
  • $2 billion Regional Accelerator Program to further grow regional economies and communities.

Affordable, reliable gas supply

• $108 million committed to deliver on our gas-fired recovery, including support for critical gas infrastructure projects, CCS pipeline feasibility work and to take forward recommendations of the National Gas Infrastructure Plan in priority regions
• Strategic Basin Plans initiatives to unlock and accelerate the development of our vast gas reserves in the Beetaloo, Cooper-Adavale, North Bowen and Galilee basins.

Backing technologies to lower emissions

• Committed to invest $22 billion in low emissions technologies over the decade to 2030 under the Technology Investment Roadmap.
• Long Term Emissions Reduction Plan for net zero emissions by 2050 based on technology, not taxes.
• Record investments in clean hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, batteries, large-scale solar and energy efficiency.

Streamlined environmental regulation

• Digital Environmental Assessment Program being piloted in Western Australia to streamline environmental assessments through a single portal, aligned with a national environmental biodiversity database.
• Digitising regulatory approvals and data submissions, eliminating manual processes and deploying innovative technologies to support remote inspections for the offshore oil and gas industry.
• Progressing Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act reforms to cut red tape and remove duplication.

Transport and logistics

• continue to deliver our $120 billion 10-year infrastructure investment pipeline, including:
  • $5.8 billion investment in the Roads of Strategic Importance initiative to help ensure our key freight roads efficiently connect mining regions to ports.
  • $173.6 million for the Northern Territory Gas Industry Roads Upgrades supporting the development of gas resources in and around the Beetaloo Basin.
  • $980 million in the Northern Australia Roads Program.

Skills for the future

• Record investments in skilling the nation, with a heavy focus on supporting apprentices and trainees through wage subsidies.
• $30 million for the Central Queensland School of Mines and Manufacturing.
• Established the Mining Skills Organisation Pilot to make the national training system more responsive to the skills needs of employers in the mining sector.

Boosting exploration

• Exploring for the Future program ($225 million invested since 2016) led by Geoscience Australia to map potential reserves of resources to unlock a future pipeline of projects.
• Junior Minerals Exploration Initiative to grow the future pipeline of projects.

Opening up new markets

• Finalised 11 export agreements since 2013 and lifted the share of trade covered by agreements from 27 per cent under Labor in 2013 to around 78 per cent today.
• Global Resources Strategy to identify new markets for our resources exports, including critical minerals.
• Modernising Australia’s trade system, reducing regulatory burdens on exporters.
• Expanded Trade Information Service to provide exporters with a single source of online information on accessing international markets.

The Risk of Labor

The future of Australia’s resources and energy sector would be at risk under a Labor Government.

Over the last 30 years, Labor has delivered higher unemployment, higher interest rates, and higher electricity prices. And not a single balanced budget.

Labor has no economic plan and no plan for the resources sector.

Our economic recovery is leading the world. The choice for voters at this election is between a Liberal-Nationals Coalition that stands side-by-side with the resources sector and the 1.1 million jobs it supports and a Labor Party that is clearly divided over the future of Australia’s biggest industry.

A Labor Party with a track record of putting higher taxes on the resources industry. A Labor Party that would place resource industry jobs and exports at risk.

Labor continues to be divided over the future of Australia’s resources industry.

Anthony Albanese has backflipped on key gas projects necessary to ensure Australia’s energy security and bring the price of gas down. He talked down the future of the coal industry before deciding to support new coal mines. He says one thing in Melbourne and another in Western Australia and Queensland.

Mr Albanese was a senior member of a Government that introduced a 30 per cent mining tax and the carbon tax when last in office. Labor’s policies now include a hidden tax on our biggest businesses, many of which are in the resources sector.

At the 2019 election, Labor proposed $387 billion of extra taxes. Labor’s instinct is always to oppose lower taxes and increase red tape on business.

Labor has never fully committed to the fuel tax credit – essential to maintain mining projects and jobs in Australia. Federal Labor opposed the legislative EPBC reforms and instead sat idly – despite state and territory leaders asking for this common sense reform.

And Labor will support continuing to fund green lawfare.

The Greens have outlined their demands to provide support to Labor in a hung parliament that involves killing off projects and jobs.

A divided Labor Party would be drawn to partner with the Greens in a hung parliament. Deputy Labor Leader Richard Marles is on the record saying the end of coal would be a good thing and Shadow Minister Mark Butler told a climate change conference that coal and gas have no future in Australia.

Unlike Labor, a Coalition government will never legislate its emissions reduction targets. Experience overseas shows that legislating any emissions target simply provides a platform for activists to engage in green lawfare.

While our resources sector has provided the backbone for Australia’s economic security through the pandemic, it is at risk under Labor.

Cost

Funding for the policies in the Coalition’s Plan for Resources is already provided for within Budget estimates.