Shadow Minister for Northern Australia, Senator Susan McDonald, and Queensland seafood identities have warned the traditional Australian Easter fish banquet is under threat unless the Queensland and Federal Governments stand up to a UNESCO demand to ban net fishing and instead back the state’s well-regulated and sustainable commercial fishers.

Dire shortfall warnings from the energy market regulator, and reports of using diesel to prop up gas generators are yet another wakeup call for the Federal Government and its energy policies.
Senator Susan McDonald, Shadow Minister for Resources, said that thanks to Labor’s utter incompetence in managing our gas and energy market over the last two years, Australians can expect gas shortfalls earlier than first forecast.

After watching Australia’s nickel crisis unfold in January this year, thanks to the Government’s lack of direction in the critical minerals sector, Australia’s copper industry is now under threat.

Senator Susan McDonald, Shadow Minister for Resources, repeated earlier warnings that the Labor Government has been sitting on their hands expecting critical minerals  investors to rush to Australia – which is not the reality of the situation.

Senator McDonald said that “thanks to an expansion of international smelters, copper processing prices have plummeted to lows not seen since the global financial crisis, and international jurisdictions are scrambling to secure supply chains for the mineral.

“I have repeatedly called on the Government to include copper, and many other minerals on the critical minerals list in order to secure international supply chains with partner nations.

“We saw in January the impacts of the Government’s delays, with Australia’s nickel industry suffering major setbacks and the potential for hundreds of Australia workers to lose their jobs.

“If the same situation unfolded for copper, it could be devastating for the future of our critical minerals sector.

“Thanks to Albanese’s anti-business agenda, the resources sector is struggling, despite continuing to prop up Labor’s big-spending budgets.

“Industrial relations laws, skyrocketing input costs following government interventions,  and complicated, burdensome regulatory requirements are stifling investment, yet Labor continues to ignore industry whilst naively assuming that investors will continue to pour money into Australian projects.

“Our minerals will not mine themselves, and it is time for Labor to take real action to support the resources sector, and recognise that critical minerals are not simply inputs for renewables, but are vital for a broad range of uses.”

Today, the Government has finally accepted the Coalition’s advice to include nickel in the critical minerals list. Senator Susan McDonald, Shadow Minister for Resources, has highlighted that despite calling for nickel to be included in the Critical Minerals List in June last year, it has taken Labor an unfolding crisis to act.

The sight of the Queensland Premier laughing when asked by a journalist about youth crime should outrage everyone.
But it’s no use campaigning for Labor to crack down on criminals – their own party rules prevent them from doing so.

Calls for the Departmental review into the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) to be expanded into a comprehensive investigation and for the next multi-million dollar payment to be cut have been turbocharged by Coalition Senators after more revelations over the mishandling of the $8.3 million grant were exposed at Senate Estimates.

Only a Coalition Government will hold the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) accountable by ceasing the $8.3 million in Government handouts introduced by Labor.

Labor’s announcement of ‘business as usual’ levels of natural gas supply has been labelled a bad joke by the Coalition, exposing what it says is a government starved of real solutions to Australia’s cost of living crisis.

Shadow Minister for Northern Australia, Senator Susan McDonald has heaped praise on flood recovery crews and volunteers in Far North Queensland after witnessing widespread devastation and heartache from Cairns to Mareeba and Cooktown.

Shadow Minister for Northern Australia, Senator Susan McDonald, has called for all banks to grant deferment on loan repayments for North Queensland businesses and homeowners affected by floods while they can recover financially.