I rise proudly to oppose this motion, because it is all crocodile tears from the government, who don't care a single iota for a single coalminer in this country. I have had the privilege of representing two seats in this parliament, the first named after a Lambton coalminer who went on to lead the Australian Labor Party, and the second named after Lieutenant Shortland, who discovered coal in Australia, in Newcastle. So I'm proud to represent a coal region. I'm proud to represent the 18,000 coalminers who call the Hunter home, their families and the communities who depend upon them. I'm proud of that, and I back that up with actions, like every other Labor member who represents a coal community in this country, and unlike those on the other side, who use them as cheap debating props and a high-visibility opportunity but go missing when real action is required.
I've never seen a coalition MP at the northern coalfields miners memorial, which is held every year to commemorate the 1,800 men, women and children as young as 11 who have died mining coal in the northern districts of New South Wales, even though the members for New England and Parkes represent northern districts coalmines. I've never seen a single member of the coalition stand up for mine safety in this place. I've done a Hansard search over the last three parliaments. Not a single coalition member has talked about the black lung plague that is returning to this country, where we've seen around 30 miners in Queensland and one in the Hunter diagnosed with black lung. Over the last three parliaments, not a single coalition member has talked about mining deaths at all. The simple truth is that they do not care one iota for miners in this country. They use them as props; then they disappear when there is an opportunity to actually protect them.
The truth is that one of the greatest protections for miners in this country is strong unions. Strong unions drive safer workplaces, but those on the other side are intent on weakening unions, because they are intent on weakening workplace safety. You just have to look at their constant attacks on the CFMEU, of which the mining and energy division is a strong proponent.
Government members interjecting—
Mr CONROY: See, they arc up now! When you talk about defending mine safety and you're intent on making sure that coalmines are safe, they arc up—because the truth is that this is all about culture wars from those opposite. They use them as cheap debating tricks, but, when it comes to protecting coalminers and making sure they can come home at night, they don't care. They don't care one iota—and they flee the place. The member for Hughes is leaving the chamber because he knows I'm telling the truth.
Let's return to some facts, because those on the other side never see a fact. They never have any familiarity with a fact. The truth is that the seaborne thermal coal trade is declining. The trade for seaborne thermal coal, which is the market for the Galilee Basin, if it ever gets off the ground, and the market for most of the Hunter coal exports, is declining. It peaked in 2013 and has declined every year since. Australian coal exports have increased during that time, as other countries have switched from Vietnamese coal or Indonesian coal to Australian coal, but that market is declining. Subsidising new coalmines in the Galilee Basin threatens 18,000 coalmining jobs in my region, the Hunter, because, if you subsidise new competition into a declining market, it will inevitably lead to declining prices for coal. That has been attested to by the CEO of the Newcastle coal port, the largest coal export port in the world. They have said that subsidising Adani and new Galilee Basin mines will undermine Newcastle coal exports, will drive down prices and will threaten the 18,000 coalmining jobs in my community.
I'm proud to stand up for those jobs. I'm proud to say that we shouldn't subsidise new coalmines in the Galilee Basin, because it threatens my coalmining jobs. I'm proud to stand up for this community. I'm proud to stand up for coalminers so that they come home safely every night from work. I'm proud to stand up and speak in this House in opposition to the recurrence of black lung in the Australian coalmining industry. I'm proud to stand up with all my Labor colleagues and oppose any diminution of coalmining safety, which is what those opposite stand for. They stand for that when they attack the CFMEU. They stand for that when they undermine safety in the Australian coalmining industry. See through their crocodile tears; see through all their cant and hypocrisy and ask: what do they actually do around coalmines? They do nothing but debate them.