Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

We are indeed the government and the Australian people are very pleased we are the government, and they have made you the opposition. When you go down the streets of your electorate, I hope you are explaining to people how the carbon tax is good for them and how paying higher electricity bills is good for them. Go into a business that uses a lot of electricity and tell them why pushing up their costs of doing business is good for them. I do not think they will believe you. You should talk to mining companies and tell them how the mining tax is good for them. You should talk to construction workers and tell them why having thuggery and lawlessness and bullying is good for them.

One thing members opposite seem to forget with regard to the car industry is that Mitsubishi left on their watch. We were not in government when Mitsubishi left. Ford made the announcement that they were leaving on Labor's watch. Those opposite seem to have forgotten that. Do you remember that, member for McMahon? Do you remember that Ford announced that they were leaving the country on your watch? You are sitting there quietly. You are not often quiet, member for McMahon. He has nothing to say. Ford left on your watch. We heard all the claims about Ford.

Let me read you something about Ford. In 2012, Julia Gillard announced $34 million for Ford, saying it would create 300 new jobs. Only a short time later, what happened? Three hundred and thirty employees lost their jobs inside eight months. Then it got far worse. Julia Gillard announced $215 million for Holden, saying it would secure Holden's future in Australia—until when, 2020? No—2022! But only months later, 670 jobs were lost. The Leader of the Opposition seems to claim that Labor would be the saviour of the car industry. If history is any indication, they could not save Mitsubishi and they could not stop Ford announcing that they were leaving the country, but somehow the Leader of the Opposition expects us to believe that they could have saved the car industry. The reality is that these are commercial decisions made by commercial companies and they are the result of a long-term period of transition that is disadvantageous to that industry in Australia.

I hope that the opposition will change their tune. I doubt it, but I hope they will change their tune. I hope they will give the Australian workers a break. I hope that they will get behind the government and support the abolition of the carbon tax. I hope they will get behind the government and support the abolition of the mining tax and support the reintroduction of the ABCC so that we can have the return of the rule of law. I hope that they will support our budget measures, which will help to bring the budget back into the black. And I would really hope that they would support their own budget measures on which they seem to have changed their mind.

I end my contribution with a plea to the Leader of the Opposition: I would hope that he would put as much effort into supporting the jobs of hardworking Australians as he does into supporting the interests of dodgy unionists.

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