Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs ) Share this | Hansard source

As I told the House last year, one in six members of the opposition have bought shares in coal or resource companies since we announced the carbon price. It is worth the House remembering who those members are: the member for Wentworth, Senator Adams, Senator Cash, Senator Fisher, Senator Humphries, the member for Stirling, the member for Brisbane, the member for Flynn, Senator Ronaldson, the member for Fadden, Senator Johnston and the member for Kooyong. They all bought shares in coal or resource companies after the Leader of the Opposition said that the industry was going to die. The member for Kooyong is a pretty smart man. When you look at this list you think they are either stupid or they just do not believe what the Leader of the Opposition is saying. As Deep Throat said to Woodward, 'Follow the money.' Follow the money and you find the truth.

It gets better than that, because a very interesting document was lodged on the last sitting day of last year. Senator Sinodinos, the new senator for New South Wales, lodged his statement of registrable interests. Senator Sinodinos is an impressive man. He was John Howard's policy brain, his right-hand man. He came out of Treasury; he understands government; he also understands the private sector. If there was ever anyone to test the argument of the Leader of the Opposition that carbon pricing is going to kill the coal industry, it is Senator Sinodinos. What does Senator Sinodinos's return tell us? Like his colleagues—like the member for Kooyong—he also owns shares in the resources sector. He also owns shares in a coal company. But that is not all. A month after the Leader of the Opposition told the country that this would be the death of the coal industry, Senator Sinodinos became the boss of a coal company. He became the chairman of Blackwood Coal, an Australian coal company based in Sydney.

While the brawn of the Liberal Party is running around the country saying, 'This is going to kill the coal industry', you have the brains of the Liberal Party becoming the boss of a coal company. It just goes to show what a bunch of hypocrites the Liberal Party really is. You have the boss of the party out there trying to scare everyone by telling them it is going to be the death of the coal industry, whilst you have all the rest of them out there buying shares in coal companies. And the smartest one of all is running a coal company. Follow the money; follow the money and you find the truth. It shows this opposition leader for what he is. This Leader of the Opposition's answer to everything is either 'No' or it is 'No idea'.

Mr O'Dowd interjecting—

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