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Bridget McKenzie revealed the Adani jobs lie and no-one noticed

Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie made an amazing admission in an interview on Sky but nobody (except The Australia Institute) seemed to notice.

“[Adani will] be employing 1500 through the construction phase and around about 100 ongoing.”

Just to emphasise, that’s 100 ongoing jobs – not 10,000, not 1500 – ONE HUNDRED.

Considering Ms McKenzie is an avid Adani fan girl, the “around about” makes even the 100 jobs dubious. After all, Adani told investors the whole project would be automated from mine to port (meaning driverless trucks and trains to reduce on labour costs i.e. jobs)

Compare that to Queensland’s renewable energy projects committed since 2015: 5687 construction jobs & 273 ongoing. Projects proposed: 33975 construction jobs & 1,562 ongoing.

The Australia Institute points out how comparatively insignificant coal-mining is as an employer.

Across Australia, coal mining accounts for half of one percent of all jobs (0.5%)

In Queensland, coal mining is just 1.1% of all Queensland jobs. Coal mining comes in far behind far bigger employers like health, education, retail, agriculture, public administration, construction, as well as accommodation and food services, which is heavily linked to tourism, and manufacturing.

In North Queensland, coal mining is the eleventh biggest industry, accounting for 4% of jobs, meaning 96% of North Queenslanders do not work in coal mining.

There are around 40,000 jobs in tourism in reef regions on the North Queensland coast — twice as many as in coal mining, according to ABS data. Other estimates put the number higher at 59,000.

If the infrastructure for Adani is built, it is likely that the rest of the Galilee will be developed. Putting millions of tonnes of new coal into a stagnant and falling market will drive down the price of coal and put existing coal-mining jobs at risk – an estimated 13,000 according to TAI.

Aside from the jobs discussion, climate change must be a consideration not just on environmental grounds but on economic ones too.

According to TAI, inaction on climate change could cost Australia $131 billion per year, excluding natural disasters that already cost Australia over $18 billion per year.

Under the carbon price period, Australia successfully reduced emissions by 2% while the economy grew by 5% showing the economic impacts of taking action are minor compared to the catastrophic consequences of inaction.

Before the Queensland government caves in to bullying to approve a groundwater management plan that the experts have told them is inadequate, they must come clean about the real job opportunities for a handful of people in NQ coal-mining vs the job losses in other mines and industries and the effect more coal will have on the existing market.

For the sake of “around about 100 jobs” are we really prepared to cook the planet?

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44 comments

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  1. Jack Cade

    It will serve Queensland right.
    I will petition my local member to vote against any catastrophe aid they ask for when they get rained on. They would STILL not vote ALP or Green.

  2. Frances

    Taken from the conversation.com:

    How many jobs will the project create?

    1,464 jobs

    But this is the net number of new full-time equivalent jobs, both direct and indirect, that Adani’s special witness, Jerome Fahrer, told the Queensland Land Court that plan would create, factoring in construction, ongoing employment and job losses from other major projects.

    Adani claims the new project will create 1,500 direct jobs and 6,750 indirect jobs (based on Queensland Resources Council – a mining lobby group – modelling).

  3. Kaye Lee

    Matt Canavan: “The Galilee Basin alone could generate 16,000 jobs….. To reduce emissions around the world, our coal industry has an important part to play in producing and supplying high quality, high energy content coal to the rest of the world to displace those mines in other countries with much lower energy content and much higher carbon emissions.”

    Associate Professor Gavin Mudd, from RMIT University, has mapped the quality of coal deposits across Australia.

    “If you look at the Galilee Basin coal, there’s a reason why it hasn’t been developed — it’s poorer quality coal, compared to other places of Australia,” Dr Mudd said.

    “It’s certainly not as bad as brown coal from an energy point of view, but from an ash point of view it’s almost 10 times more ash content.”

    The average energy content of coal at Adani’s planned mine is about 18 per cent below benchmark Australian coal.

    Adani conceded in court the ash content was about 26 per cent, roughly double the Australian benchmark.

    A report to the court made on its behalf said the Carmichael mine would produce “two coal products”.

    “Product one, a low ash/moderate energy product most suitable for Asian premium markets,” the report said. (This will require washing the coal so more water use)

    “And product two, a high ash/lower energy product most suitable for non-premium markets, particularly India.”

    So the coal bound for India could be a fairly low-grade product.

  4. ajogrady

    The saying “There are none so blind as those who will not see” describes our complicit and corrupt Main Stream Media. The journalist of the Main Stream Media have betrayed the people of Australia for their 30 pieces of silver. They trash their very own professional journalistic code of ethics on a daily basis.They have sold their souls and prostitute their services.What a bunch of inglorious bastards.

  5. RomeoCharlie29

    The Liberals and Nationals, collectively and individually couldn’t lie straight in bed. Everything they say, whether about coal, jobs, the economy, climate, or water is lies. Collectively and individually most are as thick as two short planks, unable to think for themselves and in thrall to the various lobby groups which help fund their campaigns, and possibly, subsidise the odd parliamentary income.

    Kaye Lee, another astute article. Perhaps you should send it as a letter to the editor of The Age, SMH, and just for a stir, the Courier Mail.

  6. Miriam English

    …and India is closing its borders to coal imports in a year or two. They have plenty of coal inside their own country. They don’t need low quality coal from Australia.

    Also 6 or 7 of the biggest coal corporations in the world have recently gone bankrupt because most of the profit margin has already disappeared as countries close their existing coal-fired plants and stop new ones being built.

    If the government allows the Adani Carmichael mine, then the wildlife will be torn up, animals driven to extinction, land stolen from its First Australian owners, and water supply for the entire region compromised… all for nothing, because the entire project will be bankrupt inside a few years.

  7. Robin Alexander

    I would not believe anything uttered from Canarvons mouth!never! He is a lap dog for coal Industry?looking after his and family interests! Now poking his nose into the proposed gas industry in North West NSW nothing to do with him but pushing Santos to get on with it!! 840 gas for starters( 4000 projected from Scone to Qld border!!) wells in this forest between Narrabri Coonabaraban &.Coonamble! all north west deepend on.Artisan bore for grazing agriculture and lifeblood country towns! It is at risk? forest is a recharge area for all ! Strong opposition by public is stopping it! besides hazard of gas flares with increasingly hot climate 45deg plus for months on end? strong hot Northly winds blow always? leaves hit those flares majory catastrophe?Mat should keep his nose out of our business look afer his coal mates!

  8. New England Cocky

    Another Kaye Lee expose of the fraudulent behaviour of the Liarbral Nat$ misgovernment and Ministers Canavan, Joyce et al. I doubt that the Central Queenslanders read any news other than News Ltd or watch any television other than commercial trash television channels, so they obviously missed the accurate analyses of the Adani and other Galilee Basin COAL projects in the alternative media.

    The details shown here have been known since long before the 2019 Federal election but somebody edited these details out of the MSM news bulletins.

  9. totaram

    “..and no one noticed”

    Not really. They noticed but kept mum. That’s their job.

  10. Keith

    Lots of noise from the LNP for very few jobs, and taking risks with the Great Artesian Basin. It’s the kind of general attitude about development commonly held, it doesn’t take into account environmental risks. A million life forms are at high risk of extinction; it should be a wake up call.

  11. Kaye Lee

    Another thing….

    As far as I am aware, Adani haven’t yet submitted a plan for the rail link.

    Annastacia Palaszczuk wrote to them in April asking for it and they said they don’t need to submit one to start construction.

    “I understand the new rail design you announced last year has yet to be completed, as is a detailed hydrological study for the rail corridor,” Ms Palaszczuk wrote to Mr Dow on April 5..

    “Further, I am advised that a lease application for 37 kilometres of the prospective rail corridor, including a work program with evidence of commitment to starting construction, is yet to be lodged.”

    “The remaining plans will be required as the project moves through its various stages, just like any other project, but are not needed in order for us to start construction,” a spokeswoman for the company said.

    I don’t think they have reached a rail access agreement with track operator Aurizon yet.

    The whole thing is dodgy as hell.

  12. Carol Taylor

    If Adani follows the pattern of other mine jobs, it will be around 1,000 jobs during the pre-commissioning phase, Even this it won’t be 1,000 jobs all at once but gradually over a period of years as different trades are required..eg. tubies and electricians mainly come in only over the last 6-12 months. Post-commissioning, the FIFO tradies leave and a maintenance crew (colloquially known as ‘the veggies’) arrives. This is usually around 100 persons and in spite of Adani’s size, their “fully automated” business model should keep this number about accurate. From memory the number 10,000 JOBS was pulled out of a hat by a Liberal politician (forgotten who) who obviously knew nothing about mines/FIFO work and mis-read 1,000 as 10,000. In the meantime, heaven help the local communities with spiralling housing/living costs..at least the RE agents and the poker machine clubs will be rolling in $$$s courtesy of FIFO workers. Jobs for locals? Not unless they’re dual tradies with a minimum of 5 years commissioning experience.

  13. Kaye Lee

    Electrical Trades Union state secretary Peter Ong told the Australian Financial Review that Adani had refused to engage with his union and warned the mine was unlikely to provide decent wages or conditions.

    “You open up another coal mine and all it’s going to do is put further downward pressure on the price of coal — and it’s basically flat at the moment — and it’s going to put pressure on the already operating coal mines.”
    — Peter Ong, ETU QLD state secretary.

  14. Jon Chesterson

    100 ADANI JOBS – WAS IT WORTH SELLING THE NATION FOR?

    The lies Queensland have bought lock stock and barrel and dumped on the rest of the nation. So this election was about 100 jobs at best! 100 dead end jobs more important than the national economy, national interest, impact of climate change, and more exploitation and siphoning of public will and money into the hands of the super wealthy few. The coal goes to India and China, but will they want it, at what price, and who rakes the profit?

    100 jobs when we could have had 10,000 jobs created in Queensland on renewable energies, environmental management/conservation and tourism – or could that have been 30,000 or more?

    What outrageous lies the Liberals, Nationals and Queensland have fed us, bought and sold, and think of the financial consequences of more droughts, bush fires, freak storms, a dead reef and toxic ground water across the affected artesian basin, making up half of the State of Queensland – 100 fictitious ADANI jobs – was it worth selling the nation for?

  15. Henry Rodrigues

    Ah Queensland, stupid one day, imbecilic the next.

    So when are these idiots going to secede from the rest of Australia ???

    No sympathy for them next time they’re hit with a disaster.

  16. Miriam English

    Henry Rodrigues, that’s an idiotic comment. Makes you look stupid and bigoted.

    Please remember that Queenslanders voted in a Labor government when NSW had an LNP one. This despite Murdoch owning most of the mainstream media here and a massive gerrymander in favor of the Nationals means the progressive vote needs a super-majority to get anywhere.

    Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if Queensland becomes the first Australian state to elect a Greens government. We already have a very strong Greens vote here, and all it would take for the shift is for the farmers to realise the Nationals are shafting them and that their best allies are the Greens. I think this is possible later this year or next, when the next really bad drought or floods hit.

  17. Kaye Lee

    Miriam,

    Whilst I have very dear friends in Queensland, I have to say the result was due to them. Every state and territory voted majority Labor except Qld and WA.

    NT 2 seats both Labor
    ACT 3 seats all Labor
    Vic 38 seats 21 Labor, 15 Coalition, 1 Greens and 1 Ind
    NSW 47 seats 24 Labor 22 Coalition and 1 Ind
    SA 10 seats 5 Labor 4 Coalition and 1 CA
    Tas 5 seats 2 Labor 2 Coalition and 1 Ind
    WA 16 seats 11 Coalition 5 Labor
    and drum roll please….
    Qld 30 seats 23 Coalition 6 Labor and 1 KAP

    Looking at the rest of the country excluding Qld and WA, over 54% of the seats went to Labor and 41% to the Coalition.

    In the two mining states 74% of the seats went to the Coalition. Because of them, the wishes of the rest of the country have come to nothing.

  18. Phil

    Henry Rodrigues.

    I’m with you Henry. Like their parochial cousins over here in the West, Queensland and Western Australia carry the rest of the country. Just ask them.

  19. Miriam English

    Kaye, that’s horrifying. Some of it may be a vote of disgust against the Palaszczuk government. I was handing out how-to-vote leaflets a couple of days at the polling stations and I was astounded at all the misleading advertising and outright lies. It still surprises me that so many seats went to the LNP.

    Nevertheless, Henry Rodrigues’ comment paints him as a divisive fool.

  20. John Lord

    What a story a few simple facts do tell.

  21. andy56

    Miriam, it doesnt matter if the adani coal mine doesnt make money. of every ton extracted, Adani will pocket $10. Thats right Mr Adani will make money irrespective of the commercial viability.
    Canavan needs to be lined up for his duplicity and Warren Entch needs to sort out in his own conscience what he really stands for cause he will get his short and curlys well and truly cut off. Special envoy for the barrier reef doesnt believe climate change is the danger nor that 2000hectares of land clearing will have any effect.

    Mark my words, the liberals are in a rush to destroy the reef. They only have 3 yrs.

  22. Trevor

    Kaye Lee. There was mention a little while ago about Adani family and Cayman Islands.

    The gist was that Adani would pocket billions or millions on signing of contracts and the federal govt would supply said billions or millions to be delivered to Cayman Islands Adani accounts.

    Kaye Lee is any of this factual?

    If it is factual then it occurs to me that apart from digging dirty holes(costly), money .for jam to Cayman account may be Adani end game?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Mmmmmmm.

  23. Frank Smith

    Politics! Politics! It appears that the Carmichael coal may now be headed to a new Adani coal-fired power station to be built in eastern India to supply Bangladesh with electricity. And all of this due to a “stitch-up” between Adani and his best mate the newly elected Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. What hope do we Aussies have in the face of such powerful cronyism and subsidized business practices? I despair.

    https://theconversation.com/if-the-adani-mine-gets-built-it-will-be-thanks-to-politicians-on-two-continents-118043

    There is a real need for both the public and political Parties to strongly differentiate between thermal coal used for heating water in power stations and metallurgical coal used in steel making. There is an urgent need to phase out thermal coal as soon as possible, but, although alternative technologies are becoming available, metallurgical coal (coking coal) will continue to be required for some time. And therein lies the Queensland conundrum. Many of the mines in Queensland’s Bowen Basin produce high quality metallurgical coal which is exported to Japan, Korea and China for steel production, but the Galilee basin coal contains far lower quality thermal coal with higher ash content and energy efficiency. It should be clear to all that, whilst the thermal coal export industry needs to be phased out as soon as possible, there will continue to be a demand (and need) for a metallurgical coal mining and export industry in Queensland. So, no one in their right mind should be advocating for a complete shutdown of coal mining in Queensland (or the Hunter Valley) – efforts should be concentrated on quickly phasing out thermal coal export and use. So, it makes no sense at all to open up a new huge province of low quality thermal coal in the Galilee Basin. Just as the Castrol advert used to say “oils ain’t oils”, “Coal Ain’t Coal” – let’s start differentiating.

  24. Frank Smith

    The best thing that the Queensland Labor Government could do is to quickly pump funding into TAFEs and job reskilling programs in Townsville, Bowen, Mackay, Rockhampton and Bundaberg. Lots of opportunities for families presently dependent on coal mining in these regional centres to enter into renewable energy associated jobs with a major retraining push. I am surprised the Queensland Labor Government did not take this step 4 years ago – getting a little late in the day now.

  25. OPPOSE THE MAJOR PARTIES

    The Adani project is just a giant fraud to launder money to the Cayman Islands

  26. Kaye Lee

    “The article Kay Lee condemned. Now hopeful she has seen the light. ”

    Huh?

    I don’t appear to have commented on that article???

  27. Judith

    I wonder what effect the mine will have on the Great Artesian Basin and what the flow on effects will be on agriculture and tourism. Have there been any figures released on the effects on remote springs and bores?

  28. Jack Russell

    It’s the artesian basin water, not the coal, imo.

    Everyone with mega $$’s have been busy acquiring control of major water resources, for at least 3+decades, worldwide. Here, the job’s almost completed. Everyone is saying Adani, but it’s principally She Who Must Not Be Named’s interests that are being pandered to, with kickbacks for her frontmen. It was reported today that 40 dead rare species fish we found on her property in the waterway that’s their last known global habitat.

    That Indian wedding … ?

  29. whatever

    Rather childish how QLD believes it can have both Adani and GBR tourism together.
    Childish, like sticking your fingers in your ears so you can’t hear all those facts.
    Childish, but they voted for a comic-book Miracle Man.

  30. Henry Rodrigues

    Miriam English…. Not a fool when you consider that Dutton and Canavan and Christiansen are all still laughing at the rest of Australia. Being a loyal Queenslander is probably what got you in such a conundrum in the first place.Maybe its time to remove the blinkers and look at reality front on.
    And Adani still plans to go ahead with his disastrous project. Any ideas who put him in a such a favourable position ??? Clue…. starts with a Q.

  31. Kaye Lee

    Feb 22, 2019…..

    RESOURCES Minister Senator Matt Canavan has distanced himself from his brother’s multi-million dollar acquisition of a Central Queensland mine last week.

    Senator Canavan told the Senate recently his younger brother John had acquired a seven per cent interest in Rolleston mine.

    He also said as a result, his brother-in-law, Logan lawyer James Stokes, would acquire a just over 0.7 per cent interest in the mine.

    Last week, Japanese mining giant Itochu sold its wholly owned Australian subsidiary’s interest in the thermal coal mine.

    The company John Canavan is managing director of bought a 12.5 per cent stake in the Bowen Basin coal mine. Rolleston mine, 500km southwest of Mackay, was put on the market in August 2017.

  32. Kerry

    So where was labor up here loudly proclaiming that the number of jobs are not significant.

    NO WHERE!

    Labor are cowards on Coal among other things. All this disparaging of Australians living in Qld is obnoxious and elitist.

    Federal Labor lost here because they had no policies for QLD, no moral compass and no inspiration. They are too lazy to get off their butts and campaign in places that are Murdoch media controlled and blasted by anti Labor and Greens ads from Clive Palmer.

    Its banal and lazy to blame Queenslanders when the forces brought to bear in this state were way out of proportion. If you don’t realize by now that One nation and PUP are paid for opposition to support the libs then you really did roll out of bed yesterday. And in the face of this Labor is still petulantly refusing to cooperate with the Greens, the one and only advantage available to them to defeat the opposition.

    You need to have blind faith to vote Labor up here and plenty still do.

    If Labor can win state government then what is everyone bleating about?

    Great article Kaye lee and as usual all that remains is for labor to get a message, a backbone and actually start speaking up.

  33. Judith

    Once upon a time (about 10 years ago) the precautionary principle would have been put into the mix. It seems the precautionary principle is nothing but an inconvenience.

  34. Lambert Simnel

    Ffs, watch this:

    https://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/adani/11172808?fbclid=IwAR2z-dLiAH4oJhwrv1WVZkIk95GOn_LcT6uH4cgF4x5-mVjYaqASQDvSweE

    Also read up what you can on Annika smethhurst raided

    https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/04/federal-police-raid-home-of-news-corp-journalist-annika-smethurst

    Also this, sheeer bullshit fromthe ABC, roflmao.

    https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jun/03/abc-says-it-didnt-reject-adani-story-because-company-intervened

  35. Kaye Lee

    I note the Guardian has finally caught up with this story

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/05/adani-jobs-explained-why-there-are-new-questions-over-carmichael-mine

    Also from today….

    Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union national president Tony Maher wrote to Adani Australia chief executive Lucas Dow on Tuesday “to urgently seek clarification regarding the nature of work that Adani intends to provide” if the Carmichael mine was approved.

    https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/mining-union-calls-on-adani-to-guarantee-local-jobs-20190604-p51uer.html

    It might have been a good idea to do that before they campaigned against Labor.

  36. Lambert Simnel

    Yes. TheCFMEU have been having a dip. Precious little from any elsewhere.

    Welcome to the New Reich, where the truth comes to die.

  37. Henry Johnston

    Bloomberg recently reported thus about the Carmichael mine. “Adani is losing $220 million a year: It would cost about $88 to produce a ton of coal that would sell for $66 on the open market. Those challenging numbers (rather than pressure from environmentalists) look like the best explanation for why banks have refused to lend to Carmichael. Adani has promised to fund the project from its own balance sheet.”

  38. Miriam English

    Adani has illegally started clearing black-throated finch habitat. Do they think if they can exterminate it first then they can say it doesn’t need protecting? They’ve also begun illegally constructing roads and infrastructure at the mine site.

    The Palaszczuk Labor government should be prosecuting them, not pandering to them.

    I don’t get it. Labor must know the coal mines won’t really employ many people and they certainly won’t add significantly, if at all, to the QLD economy. If they encourage the mine to go ahead they’ll lose the next election because so many people will be pissed at them for their treachery. They won’t really attract the votes anyway from the dickheads who think the Adani mine will deliver jobs. I don’t understand why they don’t launch into a flurry of activity building solar and wind power in the North to satisfy those bought off by the Adani nonsense. That would also restore hope for those of us in South QLD and Labor might have a hope in the next state elections here.

    As it stands, they seem to be intent on cutting their own throats. All I can think is they really believe all the Adani bullshit. This would tend to be supported by the letter I got back from the QLD government a while back when I urged them to block Adanai’s mine. Their letter spewed out all the usual lies about it being high quality coal, supporting around 10,000 jobs, helping poverty-stricken Indians, and so on.

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