Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I am honoured to become a North Queenslander. I did not know, however, that there was going to be an entry tax of a billion dollars for a Pentland project! But there is no doubt that it is only the coalition that cares about North Queensland. I know the member for Kennedy cares about North Queensland from the numerous occasions I have been there and the numerous occasions he has bitten my ear off. From the meetings I have had with him and various others in North Queensland, I know that the north of Australia has the capacity to become the engine room of the Australian economy in the 21st century. There is no doubt about that and it is something the Prime Minister has embraced. Our commitment is reflected most immediately in the fact that, under the free trade agreement announced by the Prime Minister today, sugar exported from Australia to Korea will have no tariffs on it. That is a huge win for North Queensland and a huge win for Australia. So we are delivering the goods. In relation to the particular project the member for Kennedy asked about, I defer to the Deputy Prime Minister and ask him to add to the answer.

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