Australia’s resources sector remains the engine room of our economy

The Hon. Madeleine King, MP Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia

Even as the world faces challenges such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East, Australia’s resources sector continues to underwrite our economic wellbeing.

When I meet with our key trading partners, I always emphasise the stability and reliability of supply of our resources. Our trading partners value this. They know we will be there for them. We will keep the lights on.

The Bowen Basin is an integral part of Australia’s stellar reputation as a trusted energy supplier. Coal and gas from projects in the Bowen Basin are crucial to help our export partners sustain, build and transform their economies.

The Bowen Basin produced around 210 million tonnes of high-quality black coal for both steelmaking and energy production in the 2023 financial year.

Much of that goes to our trading partners in Asia, to support high-end steel and manufacturing, and for their continued energy needs.

As the world transitions to net zero, our partners will continue to require Australia’s resources.

This is true for traditional, well-established industries like iron ore, coal, and LNG, as well as our emerging critical minerals and rare earths sectors.

Australians can be proud of our ESG standards, and the fact that companies and governments are committed to the longterm health and safety of mine workers and the environment in which they live and work.

Each country will travel their own pathway as they navigate towards their net zero goals. Even with optimistic decarbonisation targets, those pathways will continue to involve exports from Australia.

As Minister for Resources, I have been a frequent visitor to Japan, where Australia’s coal and gas plays a crucial role to support the economy and Japan’s net zero commitments. For example, Nippon Steel plans to keep using Australian metallurgical coal under its net zero by 2050 scenario.

Australia’s other trading partners will continue to need metallurgical coal for their steel plants for some time.

Steel is, and will remain, important for the production of low-emissions technologies such as wind turbines, as well as electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Last year, the Bowen Basin produced enough metallurgical coal to make the steel required for around 500,000 wind turbines or more than 3 million steel high-voltage electricity transmission towers.

Such infrastructure could support over 1.5 million kilometres of transmission lines and link the electrical grids of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia thousands of times over.

While global prices have returned to more long-term and sustainable levels after the spikes of 2022, demand remains firm.

The outlook for Australian coal remains strong, with the latest forecasts pointing to rising export volumes. And that is good for ongoing jobs.

At the same time, Australia is committed to achieving net zero by 2050, and to meeting our legislated target to curb emissions by 43% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

Australia and other nations must move to reduce the environmental impacts and emissions from coal mining as soon as possible.

The Australian Government is continuing to work on an emissions reduction plan for the resources sector – one of six sectoral plans under development. Fugitive emissions such as methane from coal mining will be a key focus.

The Government is supporting industry efforts to address emissions.

In July, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen announced a $37.2 million grant to Kestrel Coal to reduce ventilation methane emissions at the Kestrel mine in the Bowen Basin under the Powering the Regions Fund.

Alongside our stable and reliable supply chains, Australia also has another great advantage on global markets – our strong reputation for Environmental, Social and Governance standards.

Australians can be proud of our ESG standards, and the fact that companies and governments are committed to the long-term health and safety of mine workers and the environment in which they live and work.

The tragic fatalities in the Bowen Basin this year are heartbreaking reminders of the dangers on mining sites. My thoughts are with the families of the workers involved and the wider community.

It is a reminder that federal and state governments, as well as companies and their workers, must continue to strive to make sure our resources projects are safe places to work.

Safety must remain the highest priority, because every worker should return home at the end of their shift.

The future for the Bowen Basin is bright, as one of Australia’s premier resources regions it will continue to power our economy and the economies of our trading partners as we transition towards net zero.

I look forward to supporting the resources sector, in the Bowen Basin and across Australia, as it grows and transforms to meet tomorrow’s opportunities. 