Mr REPACHOLI (Hunter) (11:25):

Australia is a country which has a lot of minerals. We have been blessed with vast quantities of valuable and useful minerals and this has helped us to become the developed and relatively wealthy country that we are lucky to be in today. These minerals still have so much to offer us, and it is only a Labor government that will do what is needed to make sure that, with the help of our critical minerals, Australia continues to move forward and remains the prosperous country that we are now.

The recent budget again showed that this government cares about resources in this country, the sector itself, the way that the sector operates and those who work in the sector. In this budget, we committed 57.1 million for the international partnership program. This includes a 17.1 million towards chain studies to attract investment, secure tangible strategic supply partnerships and shape emerging market rules and norms to ensure Australian projects compete on a level playing field. The Critical Minerals Office does important work to coordinate, optimise and prioritise activities and actions across the government in support of growing Australia's critical minerals sector. This work is extremely valuable, so we are providing 37.5 million through four measures to help the gas sector thrive. We are providing 4.5 million to develop a road map for establishing a decommissioning industry in Australia so that we can recycle and dispose of materials here. This is a multibillion dollar opportunity and a chance to service demand in Australia and the Asia Pacific. This means jobs for Australians, and this government won't let that chance slip by.

Resources are important in all parts of Australia, and we are providing $14.3 million to support emissions reduction in the Queensland energy sector. We're also providing further funding to help decommission the Northern Endeavour floating Production Storage and Offtake facility. Resources are an important part of our country. They have always been pivotal and will always remain so-perhaps even more now going forward. If you want to see a region that's built on the value of our resources, come to the Hunter and look at communities like mine. What I say to my community is this: while people want to buy our coal we will always supply our coal.