Whilst there remain many challenges facing Australia and our energy mix, there is still hope on the horizon. As I have said, I have faith in the Australian spirit. 
We have the best resources in the world. We have the ingenuity, the drive, and the knowledge to maximise them. 
We should not be energy-reliant, but energy-independent. We should not be in the position that we are in – today – ever again. We should be pulling every lever available to us: coal, gas, uranium, oil – and we can do that by drilling and digging what we have in abundance here.

Mining pays the bills for Australia. These words remain as true today as when I made the same statement two years ago, when we last gathered for Minerals Week, and as true as 100 years ago.
The copper fields of Cloncurry to the development of coal in Queensland transformed my state from an agrarian economy – and cheap electricity (as well as the removal of death duties) turbo-charged the state into a powerhouse of small businesses, manufacturing, tourism and the arts.