news, federal-politics

Australia's freshly minted Resources and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has signalled the government's intention to use taxpayer funds to help the coal mining industry establish new projects. It came as polling commissioned by progressive think-tank The Australia Institute found Australians would rather see government subsidies for fossil fuels invested in public services such as schools and hospitals. In an interview with Fairfax Media publication the Australian Financial Review, Mr Frydenberg, who is also the Minister for Northern Australia, said a $5 billion infrastructure fund announced in the May budget could contribute to infrastructure for mining projects in the Galilee Basin. Former treasurer Joe Hockey hinted last month that Indian company Adani, which plans to build Australia's largest coal mine, might receive taxpayer money from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to help build a rail line from its Carmichael mine in Central Queensland to coal terminals at Abbot Point. Mr Frydernberg was more candid. Asked if the fund might be used for rail projects for Galilee coal, he said: "Yes, if there is a good case and state governments are willing to step up, then you would think that rail is one of the areas where it will go. A ReachTel poll for The Australia Institute polled 4300 voters across seven electorates - Newcastle, Eden Monaro, New England, North Sydney, Sturt, Wentworth and Wide Bay – on whether they would like to see government mining subsidies transferred to essential services. Support for such a measure across those electorates ranged from 65 per cent to 77 per cent. In new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's electorate of Wentworth, 72.5 per cent of those surveyed said they would support such a move. In one of his first actions as minister, Mr Frydenberg spoke with Queensland's Natural Resources and Mines Minister Anthony Lynham and Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles. Adani's project has been at the centre of a battle between the government and environment groups after the Mackay Conservation Council used a federal court challenge to successfully highlight flaws in Environment Minister Greg Hunt's assessment of the project. Adani's environmental approval was set aside and the government launched an attack to repeal federal environment laws that allow green and community groups to mount legal challenges to big developments. Mr Hunt is reassessing the Carmichael project and is due to reach a decision shortly. Mr Frydenberg told the AFR that managing the conflict between environment groups and investors was "going to be a real challenge for me" and warned that "anti-development activism" could see Australia miss out on large projects. He said the Carmichael mine "a very important project, which will see significant investment in Australia and provide electricity to millions of people in the developing world." "Anti-development activism can create major delays in projects and send investment offshore, and you have to be very conscious of that when there are such large time frames involved and we are competing internationally for investment in this country," he said. "We are not the only nation in the world that produces iron ore or mines for coal." Follow us on Twitter

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