THE move comes as the Morrison government decides to scuttle its ‘big stick’ energy plan until after an election but it’s good news for explorers as the minister for resources underlines how much energy exports to a growing Asia add to the economy.
It outlines how the government aims to support develop new resources and markets, support jobs, attract investment into the wider Australian resources sector and "share the benefits of success with more regional communities".
Rural and regional communities have increasingly become flashpoints over concerns about the impact of large resources projects, particularly new unconventional oil and gas fields, and coal mines, on the water table.
"There is a bright future for the resources sector given the economic growth occurring in our region," Canavan said.
"By 2030, Asia will produce more than half the world's economic output, consume 40% of its energy and be home to a middle class of almost 3.5 billion people.
"Given this growth, and if Australia can maintain its global share of commodity production, at least 24,000 new direct mining jobs could be created, along with the broader prosperity those jobs will bring."
The Australian parliament has three days left to pass legislation before it will be dissolved ahead of the budget and a general election, likely in mid-May, when the Coalition, which has burnt through two prime ministers, faces an electoral drubbing if polls are accurate.
In the remaining sitting days the delivery of the national resources statement, a promised goal of the government's Resources 2030 Taskforce, is unlikely to receive much attention from MPs, with the government keen to focus on boarder security, encryption laws and superannuation
Other legislative items such as a resources and energy policy issues and banking reforms are being sidelined on the parliamentary agenda.
Despite that, Canavan has promised to start work immediately by progressing some elements of the statement in collaboration with the states and territories through apparatuses such as the Council of Australian Governments Energy Council.
He also has plans for his favourite prospective region, the Northern Territory's Beetaloo Basin, saying the plan would support "the development of new resource basins through cooperation with state and territory jurisdictions, like our Memorandum of Understanding with the Northern Territory on the development of the Beetaloo Basin.
"This includes an agreement to establish a new critical minerals work program to boost exploration, develop a data strategy to de-risk investment decisions, and build community confidence in the sector," he said.
Speaking this morning, Canavan said the government would look to promote a national resources brand for Australia, continue its investment in pre-competitive data such as seismic and aero-magnetic surveys.
Source: Energy News Bulletin
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