Canavan criticises Brunker’s naivety

BURDEKIN candidate Mike Brunker’s claim that a $ 1 billion concessional loan to Adani was a “federal matter” that the Queensland Government did not have a lot to do with has been described as “naive and misleading”.

Federal Resources and Northern Australia Minister Matt Canavan attacked the Labor candidate for dismissing the potential $ 1 billion for the Adani coal project’s rail line from the National Australia Infrastructure Facility as “a federal loan”.

Senator Canavan said that under the NAIF legislation, the Federal Government required the co- operation of states to provide investments.

“We cannot use the NAIF to make the loan directly … to the project without Queensland signing the project finance document,” he said.

Senator Canavan said Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s decision to veto any loan from NAIF would potentially cause disruption and uncertainty.

“There has been an internal brawl in the Queensland Labor Party for 12 months about the Adani project and Deputy Premier Jackie Trad and the Left wing have won,” Senator Canavan said.

“Now the Greens have said if they win Ms Trad’s seat at the election, they will support Labor in parliament – but only if Labor completely kills off the Adani project and presumably the other five coal projects proposed for the Galilee Basin that would provide 15,000 direct jobs for Queenslanders.”