Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Member for Mackay Julieanne Gilbert have met with workers at the Hay Point coal terminal today.
Hay Point is one of the largest coal ports in the world and was responsible for the majority of the $36 billion in coal exports that Queensland achieved in the year to March 2019.
“Between them, the Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay terminals played host to 1,176 bulk carriers in the last financial year,” the Premier said.
“That’s an average of over three ships every day for the entire year, and between them they carried over 120 million tonnes of coal – 10 million tonnes every month.
“Coal exports – largely metallurgical coal used in steelmaking – are the largest single component of Queensland’s exports which in the 12 months to March 2019 reached another record of $84.3 billion, still larger than the total of New South Wales and Victoria combined.
“Last year marked 50 years since Queensland sent its first shipment of metallurgical coal to Mitsubishi in Japan, and for as long as the world needs steel, our major trading partners will want Queensland coal to produce it.
“That means there will be tens of thousands of coal mining jobs in Queensland far off into the future.
Since the Palaszczuk Government took office in 2015 it has facilitated more than $20 billion of investment in resource projects, supporting 7,000 jobs.
In the year to March 2019 Queensland exports of:
- LNG exports rose by $4.8 billion
- Metallurgical coal rose by $3.9 billion
- Other minerals rose by $1.3 billion.
Recent highlights include:
- Approval of an environmental impact statement for the $1 billion Olive Downs coal mine project that will support 1,000 jobs during operation and 500 in construction.
- Coordinated project declaration to reduce red tape for the $1 billion Winchester South project near Moranbah with another 950 jobs
- Petroleum lease approval of Arrow Energy’s $10 billion Surat Basin gas project that will support 1,000 jobs
- First contracts sealed for gas for Australian manufacturers from Senex’s Project Atlas
- Coordinated project status for the $1.4 billion Sconi nickel, cobalt and scandium mine at Greenvale near Townsville, supporting 500 jobs
- The starts of operations at Rio Tinto’s $2.6 billion Amrun bauxite mine
- Approval of mining leases for Fitzroy Australia Resources’ Ironbark No. 1 coal mine
- The opening of Jemena’s $800 million Northern Gas Pipeline from Mount Isa to the Northern Territory, supporting 431 jobs
