Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I want to acknowledge up front the importance of renewable fuels and a number of the issues that have been raised by the member for New England. Both the member for New England and the member for Kennedy have been at the forefront of making representations to both me and to the Minister for Resources and Energy to make sure that the government are well apprised of, and to make sure that we are taking seriously, the issues surrounding energy security and, in particular, the opportunities that may well be there with respect to the different possible uses of biofuels into the future.

There is no more serious motion that a Leader of the Opposition can move than the one that the Leader of the Opposition moved today. When the debate began members opposite were all calling out, ‘Why hasn’t the Prime Minister arrived yet?’ not understanding of course that when a debate is to be held first thing in the morning, and not by a suspension of standing orders, it will regularly appear on the blue and on the Notice Paper for the morning. They chose not to do that.

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