Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

You don't. You turn your backs on them, you ignore them and you take them for granted. That's not the way we operate in country Australia. As I've indicated, the people in Orange will remember who has supported them and who is not supporting them.

This is just part of the wider decentralisation strategy of the Australian government, and we need to support it. And when the opponents of decentralisation in the Labor Party stand up and say that we shouldn't be doing it, that we shouldn't be moving jobs out of capital cities, to people in the country, they're talking a totally different language. It just epitomises the great divide between the cities and the bush, the way the Labor Party talks about decentralisation. I just don't understand it. People in country New South Wales and country Australia understand the value and importance of decentralisation, but every time you say you want to decentralise a government department those on the opposition benches scream blue murder and say the sky is going to fall.

The member for Hunter should take note of a number of those councils in Labor controlled seats that made submissions to the recent Senate inquiry supporting decentralisation. People support it, and they want it, and they want their elected representatives to go in and fight for it. By not supporting decentralisation the member for Hunter is failing to back the country communities he claims to represent. Those on the opposition benches who continually oppose decentralisation are selling regional communities out; you really are. That's why you're losing touch. It's because of the influence of the city interests, which have basically taken hold of the opposition benches, which is very disappointing. There was a time that, when they had these seats, they used to stand up and fight for them, and they'd back them. But they don't anymore.

The Liberals and Nationals have a very strong record of standing up and fighting for people in the country. We've got the backpacker tax sorted; we've got the wine equalisation tax sorted; the instant asset write-off has been sorted; Gonski funding has been sorted, with country schools being the biggest winners; and country-of-origin labelling laws—the list goes on and on. And this latest decentralisation initiative is part of a wider Australian government policy of decentralising departments to country areas and letting all Australians share in the wealth of this nation, which is what we should be doing, and I commend this bill to the House. I also commend it to other members and hope that they will support it. (Time expired)

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