Labor MPs have been accused of “sucking up to the coal lobby” as they embark on a three-day tour of Queensland mines hosted by the Minerals Council of Australia.
Greens’ environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said the decision of a group of Labor MPs to embrace the coal lobby would cause despair among Labor voters.
“Lots of Labor voters will be shaking their heads at seeing Labor MPs hanging out with the Minerals Council – the same bunch of lobbyists that killed the mining super profits tax and then campaigned against a price on carbon,” Hanson-Young told Guardian Australia.
“Rather than sucking up to the coal lobby, Labor should be working to help communities manage the transition in a carbon-constrained world and build jobs that are future-proof.”
Four Labor MPs – Meryl Swanson, Mike Freelander, Milton Dick and Kimberley Kitching – have begun touring mines in Queensland, with the Minerals Council telling the Australian Financial Review the trip reinforced “the strong and positive relationship between the mining industry and the Labor party.”
Over the next two days, the group will visit BHP’s Peak Downs coal mine and the Adani Renewables Rugby Run solar farm in Moranbah, Rio Tinto’s Yarwun alumina refinery and Orica’s Yarwun manufacturing plant in Gladstone.
The Greens’ move to exploit the opposition’s shift to reconnect with blue-collar workers comes as Labor leader Anthony Albanese used his first headland speech as leader on Tuesday to outline the party’s approach to jobs and the future of work.
Albanese also confirmed Labor’s support for the metallurgical coal industry, saying it stood to benefit from the boom in the steel production needed for wind turbine construction.
“Simply put, the road to a low-carbon future can be paved with hundreds of thousands of clean-energy jobs, as well as supporting traditional jobs, including coalmining. Labor wants to lead that clean-energy revolution.”
The repositioning on coal comes as the party braces for the release of a review into the election campaign that is due to be handed to the ALP’s federal executive next week that will canvass all of its policies, including Labor’s emissions reduction targets.
The review, which has been led by Jay Weatherill and Craig Emerson, is expected to be publicly released shortly thereafter.
