Interview with Kieran Gilbert, Sky News

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SKY NEWSDAY 
TUESDAY, 19 AUGUST 2025 1:10PM

SUBJECTS: Adani Mine expansion, the demand for coal, the productivity roundtable.

KIERAN GILBERT: On the expansion of the Adani Mine, thanks, Rubin, I'll talk to you soon, but Adani, expanding its presence in the Galilee Basin, and 600 more jobs, 60 billion investment. Let's bring in the Assistant Minister for Resources and Regional Development, as well as Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Anthony Chisholm. 

This breaking news in the last couple of hours - last hour or so, I think - What's your reaction to it? Do you welcome the expansion, 600 jobs? 

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: Of course I do. I've spent a couple of days last week in the Barwon Basin and spoke to a number of resources companies that are contemplating expansion. It shows you the strength of the industry in Queensland, and the point I've been making about Bravus all along, is once it was up and operational, it's just another coal mine of which we have a lot of them in Queensland, they can contribute to the economy, they create employment at the same time, and of course I welcome any investment that's going to help create jobs and economic activity in Queensland. 

KIERAN GILBERT: The Nationals Senator, Matt Canavan, claiming credit for the State Government, saying that they've encouraged this, they've stopped any challenges to the expansion. Do you give them credit for this development today? 

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: Look, I think that Bravus make their own decisions, I haven't seen that the State Government have done anything specific, but obviously it's a company that wants to invest in Queensland, they've done that now over a number of years, and it is important for the economy up in North Queensland to help create jobs, create long lasting employment. 

As I said, I see and have been to a lot of mines in Central and North Queensland that are employing people in the local community, that's great for the State and also the Governments make revenue out of that in terms of loyalties which are obviously important to help fund the things that are important to so many people across the country. 

KIERAN GILBERT: It shows there's quite a demand too, doesn't it, for coal, despite efforts towards net zero? 

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: No doubt there is, and the companies I met when I was there last week, they're investing in Queensland, they understand that there's some [indistinct]. I think the thing that's often forgotten, Kieran, across Queensland is that about 75 per cent of the coal we export out of Queensland is for steel making, and there is really strong demand for that across the world. It's high quality, and it's something that I think is going to be used, cause there's nothing else that can replace that at the moment. 

So those companies that are exporting that see strong demand for it, and mines that I was visiting recently, some of those were old, some of those were new, but they see strong demand for their products in the years ahead. 

KIERAN GILBERT: Yeah, I know you've been covering a fair bit of ground in your expanded role as Assistant Minister for Resources as well as Agriculture. You held your own productivity roundtable in the lead up to it, or you know, attended one on behalf of those industries. What's the mood like? What needs to be done to boost productivity, Senator? 

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: Yeah, thanks, Kieran. It was a really productive discussion and obviously coincided with the Ekka being on in Brisbane at the same time, which is always a highlight of the year, and brings a lot of people to the city for that. 

It was remarkable in terms of the consistency from people across the different industries, and it really does go to that red tape and approvals process, so despite that, you know, not being in a capital city and a love lot of these being out in regional areas, it still is slow to actually get approvals for expansions on new operations. So that is something that received significant attention. 

Housing and housing's a challenge everywhere across the country, but in the regional areas and rural areas it's often very small in terms of an additional few houses will help bring a doctor to town or help bring a childcare educator to town, that then leads to so many flow-on benefits from that. 

So, it was a practical discussion, but not removed from the other people who'd been contributing to this debate across the country. But some of it can be quite practical in terms of the difference it can make in a small town, and then the productive gains that it can lead to as well. 

So, it was a really good discussion, and one that I know that Minister Collins and I want to feed that into the discussions that are going on in Canberra, but see it as part of a long-term objective for us around efficiency and effectiveness of our rural industries. 

KIERAN GILBERT: So, I know various Ministers like yourself, and Minister Collins have had these discussions. What's the process for feeding it in now to the Government's overall deliberations? Is that via the normal Cabinet procedures? 

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: That will be the ongoing process. Obviously we've provided some feedback to the immediate discussions that are on the way over the next couple of days, and I know that the approvals process is one that is going through, so for instance, I visited a big feedlot at Oakey on the Darling Downs and they're interested in expanding their operations, which would be great for the local economy there. But they're sort of, you know, looking at the process that they've got to go through and the months or potentially years that will take, and that's obviously challenging for a business like that. 

So, it doesn't really matter whether it's housing or whether it's a feedlot or whether it's a resource project, there are frustrations about how long these processes can take. 

Often, councils that are responsible for approving some of these developments are quite small, they don't have a big staff, they don't have a lot of resources. So, for them to go through that process and ensure that they're meeting environmental conditions can be quite a challenge. 

So, we want to ensure that it's a robust process, but we also want to see that these things can happen in a quicker timeframe. It will be good for local communities and good for people who want to invest in regional and rural economies at the same time. 

KIERAN GILBERT: Assistant Minister for Resources Agriculture, Regional Development, Anthony Chisholm, joining us from St George in outback Queensland. Thanks, appreciate it. 

ANTHONY CHISHOLM: Thanks, Kieran, good to be with you.