Resource Minister Madeleine King endorses union Pilbara push as IR laws ‘working as intended’

Resources Minister Madeleine King has decried the “hysteria” surrounding a union push into the Pilbara, insisting the Federal Government’s contentious industrial relations laws are “working as intended”. Ms King will also use a speech at a business breakfast on Thursday morning to reject claims Labor doesn’t support gas and reaffirm her strong backing of carbon capture and storage. She will announce nine new permits to support CCS projects, including in WA, declaring “we must mobilise every tool at our disposal to get to net zero”. The State’s business community – led by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCIWA) – fear WA is on the verge of returning to the “bad old days” of industrial chaos in the Pilbara as an alliance of unions use Labor’s new bargaining laws to force BHP to the negotiating table. The angst has intensified after the Fair Work Commission this month ordered three NSW coal companies into multi-employer bargaining talks, a ruling industry warns sets a dangerous precedent for WA mining. In a speech to a CCIWA business breakfast on Thursday morning, Ms King will play down those concerns. “I’m seeing a bit of hysteria about unions in the resources industry,” Ms King will tell the event, according to a draft speech supplied to The West. “Yes. We are a Labor Government. “The Government’s bargaining reforms are working as intended – our reforms were designed to encourage employers back to the bargaining table. “Working in the resources sector is difficult and often dangerous work. Workers can be away from their family on swings for long periods. “Bargaining can deliver better pay and conditions for workers and better productivity and flexibility for workers.” The comments come after Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt suggested the union’s Pilbara push could benefit the WA economy by putting more money in the pockets of miners. Ms King will use the speech to refute Coalition claims that Labor doesn’t support the gas industry, insisting the Government understands that reliable and affordable energy are essential to run a business. She confirmed work was underway with industry and the WA Government to bring new gas supply to the market, after last month issuing exploration permits to Chevron, INPEX, Woodside and Melbana on the west coast and Esso and Beach Energy over east. “We must act to secure a future supply of gas to meet our energy needs and fulfil our international obligations and to secure energy security and stability for our region,” she will tell the event. “To do that we need more exploration.” The Federal Government will issue permits to support the development of CCS projects in the Perth Basin, Northern Carnarvon Basin and Bonaparte Basin. WA’s only cabinet minister will position Labor as the superior stewards of the resources sector, accusing the Coalition of peddling “alternative facts” – including that IR laws and red tape contributed to BHP’s shuttering of Nickel West and Albemarle’s decision to scale back operations at its Kemerton plant. “Ignoring or distorting the facts will not help our resources industry,” she will say.