The only thing the now departed Queensland Labor Government seemed to excel at is playing politics. They ran effective scare campaigns for years that the next LNP Government would cut public service jobs and even, American-style, tried to weaponise the issue of abortion at the last election.
Fortunately, the election of the LNP Government will put an end to this unbecoming style of politics because people will now see firsthand what the LNP Government will do.
And there is a big job ahead. When Labor was elected, Queenslanders owed on average $15,000 per person in debt. At Labor’s last budget, these debt levels were forecast to grow by $28,000 per person. Balancing this budget is a big task for the new, incoming government.
We had been told that all the extra spending could be paid for by the coal industry. I welcomed the overdue promotion of the coal industry by Labor, but even the coal industry cannot pay for everything. Labor’s increased royalties only applied when coal prices were very high. Now that they have come down to more normal levels, there are no rivers of gold to afford the sort of cash splashes Labor resorted to in its last years in office.
We have a big job to attract real investment again to Queensland. Despite the record high coal and gas prices, there has not been an increase in investment in the Queensland resources industry. During the last terms of trade boom around 2010, Australia attracted $100 billion of mining investment in a 12 month period. This time investment has peaked at $40 billion. This $60 billion investment gap means fewer jobs and lower royalties for Australians in the future.
Costs have skyrocketed at mines just as they have everywhere else. The cost of mining coal in the Bowen basin has doubled at many sites over the past decade. This means that the higher royalty thresholds are kicking in at a lower rate of profitability and threatening the viability of some mines.
We are living off the investments of decades ago but today’s mines will eventually come to their end of life. And our energy prices have skyrocketed. We need a plan to cut red tape and help lower the costs of doing business so we can attract more investment to keep coal jobs and coal communities alive.
Our roads are in a shocking state of disrepair. The Bruce Highway is now a scary road to navigate, especially at night when you only get a late warning of a pothole. The roads through the Bowen coal basin that produce so much of the wealth are not worthy of a third world nation. Thankfully, Labor has reversed its proposed cuts to the Beef Roads program that the former Federal LNP Government put in place so this will help improve some of them.
As a member of the LNP I am happy with the election result. But after any political victory, I immediately feel the weight of responsibility. We have to deliver for the people we represent. We have to take advantage of the wonderful opportunities we have in Central Queensland. We have to create a safer, more prosperous and better place for our children to live in.
Ultimately, politicians are judged not on how many elections they win, but what they do after they win an election. The LNP has a big job ahead.
Hon Matt Canavan
Senator for QLD
