Greg Combet (Charlton, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Joyce was asked on Four Corners: ‘Do you want carbon offsets for the farming community?’ Senator Joyce’s reply was: ‘No. And I want a little red car for Christmas and, if I can, I will take cupid wings and fly around the room.’ That is the Leader of the National Party in the Senate. It is not a wonder he is doing the chicken dance if that is what he is endeavouring to do. Senator Joyce has taken his party far beyond the edge of relevance and credibility in this debate.

But the problem is not just the National Party. The Liberals appear to have fallen into two camps on this particular issue. The first camp, led by the Leader of the Opposition and the member for Groom, are obviously supporting negotiations with the government. We are wondering whether the member for Mackellar might be one of the 10 people in the Liberal party room today who, we understand, did not support that position.

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