New Labor leader Anthony Albanese's true socialist colours are showing already as he's already questioning the "economics" of opening up the Galilee Basin to coalmining and refused to publicly support Adani's $2 billion Carmichael mine, ahead of his visit to Queensland today to win back blue-collar workers.
The Conservative Party isn't in the least surprised as a Labor leader, like a leopard, never changes its spots.
The Australian reports, the inner-Sydney left-wing powerbroker, who previously called into question the future of thermal coal and the feasibility of the Adani project, is facing internal pressure to further distance Labor from the coal industry.
Asked yesterday whether he supported the Adani coalmine, Mr Albanese, who will today visit the northern Brisbane electorate of Longman which Labor lost to the Coalition, said he would "respect the process" but did not endorse jobs for central Queensland.
"There is the other issue with regard to Adani, and indeed to the whole issue of the Galilee coal basin, the issue of the economics of it, the basic cost-benefit ratios," Mr Albanese said, after being confirmed as the ALP's 21st leader.
Six coalmines in the Galilee Basin have been approved by the state government, which could generate 16,000 jobs and nearly double Australia's thermal coal production. Mr Albanese faces the task of reversing massive swings in Queensland against Labor at the May 18 election and the loss of two seats, including the Townsville seat of Herbert, which relies on mining to generate jobs and business.
The party's election failure prompted Queensland's Labor premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to immediately intervene to end the delays to the approval process of the Adani mine project.
But Mr Albanese's position on the future of thermal coal is well established. He said last year that "there's no market" for the commodity and declared that the Adani project was a "climate change issue" .
Incoming deputy leader Richard Marles, has also refused to throw his support behind the Adani mine despite making comments before the election suggesting it would be a "good thing" if global demand for Australian coal collapsed.
Resources Minister Matt Canavan lashed Mr Albanese and Mr Marles for refusing to support the Adani mine, "The Labor Party have heard nothing and learned nothing from the election result. People voted last week to protect their jobs, protect their futures, but the Labor Party are showing again that they are no longer the party of workers."
