Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I think I just identified how many jobs are provided by agriculture. You cannot compare the two. If agriculture, like the iconic South Australian General Motors Holden plant, is also creating jobs and battling to stay competitive with the high cost of wages, high energy costs, the high dollar and the difficulties with workplace relations right now, I just ask for a level playing field. I just say hang on, take the blinkers off. I know not many rural people vote Labor—in fact very few—but that should not be the governing principle behind who identifies where the needs are and who does not. Of course the South Australian General Motors Holden industry is an icon—most people who are more than half a century old have had a Holden at some stage during their lifetime. But we also have agriculture and we want to eat Australian food in the future, so I ask this government to get a life, look beyond South Australian marginal seats and understand that there are other icons that deserve some attention.

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