Resources companies are highly likely to keep extracting coal for many years, an industry supporter said.
Anti-mining activists, who promote the Australian Labor Party’s “left fringe ideology”, are totally wrong in predicting no coal mines will be built by the year 2050, according to a Queensland Liberal National Party member.
‘Remain a major industry’
“Coal mining will remain a major industry for Australia including the Hunter for decades to come,” Federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt said according to the Australian Associated Press (AAP).
The remarks came after the left-leaning Australia Institute demanded regulatory intervention to cancel at least 10 new coal projects, because demand for the commodity temporarily fell after Communist China’s recent ban on importing Australian coal.
“World demand for coal is falling, not rising,” institute chief economist Richard Denniss said in a public statement.
“Trying to build 10 new Adani [now known as Bravus Mining and Resources] mines’ worth of coal mines in the Upper Hunter, at precisely the time world demand for coal is falling, is absurd.”
Former PM opposes coal
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants coal mining activity to “decline” and let the nation quickly achieve its greenhouse gas emission targets.
“We are not going to be coal mining … in 30 years’ time,” said Turnbull, who now chairs the NSW Net Zero Emissions and Clean Economy Board.
“They are seeking to get mines get in before the party ends.”
Lifting people out of ‘poverty’
However, Pitt categorically rejected these claims and believes coal exploration will always play an important role in supporting the economy and reducing unemployment.
“[Coal exploration] is generating the energy in many developing nations to provide the essential services and economic opportunities that help lift people out of poverty,” he said.
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A total of 23 new coal mines and expansions have been proposed across the Premier State, with a combined production of more than 155 million tonnes per annum.
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