Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We said that we would price carbon; that is what we said. The reality is that we went to the 2007 election saying that we would price carbon, and that is what we have achieved. You know, member for Groom; you were in the negotiations. I heard those negotiations in Taipei. So, remember that we did have a CPRS deal where we priced carbon and, but for one vote in the coalition party room—where someone actually spoiled a ballot paper because they could not vote for Turnbull or Abbott—we would have had a CPRS. If we had had the Greens vote along with the vote of Senator Sue Boyce from Queensland, who had the courage to join Senator Troeth from Victoria, we would have a CPRS and Tony Abbott would be consigned to the pages of history.

Th e protection of the Coral Sea and the seas in th e rest of Australian is a great moment in the history of this parliament . W e can actually protect something for our children and our grandchildren.

The reality is that we are yet to see the emails flowing into our offices from people saying , 'W e can 't go fishing. ' The electorate of Moreton is a long way from the Coral Sea , b ut I am proud to say I married a North Queenslander, a Trinity Bay High girl from Cairns. All my in - laws are in Tully , Babinda and Innisfail and they have tinnies, and they go fishing . T hey go to the reefs. But I can tell you that they do not go 450 kilometres out. I trust my in - laws — mostly !—but I am not going 450 kilometres out in any tinny ; I can tell you that.

The reality is that we will still be able to go fishing . There is a great history, going back to Lee M arvin . If you go to b each resort s you can see those photos of Lee Marvin . B ack in the seventies fishing was bringing Hollywood to North Queensland . Tourists went out after these pelagic fish ; they went to catch marlin . Since then North Queensland has been world famous, when it comes to bringing tourists in. And this legislation will complement it. That is why you have Mike Ball, from Mike Ball Dive Expeditions saying, proudly, 'Get this done.' We will have a great product to sell around the world.

North Queensland is suffering at the moment in terms of jobs and tourism.

Mr Christensen interjecting —

The reality is that this is part of the product. It is niche tourism rather than the mass brand. We have to have a niche market, and North Queensland can market itself as the pristine environment. The reality is—

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