Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

They don't believe in manufacturing jobs anymore.

In the seat of Calare, we have seen the great turnaround in agriculture. What we've seen in agriculture in the last GDP figures is that, in the June quarter, agriculture was the fastest growing sector. We are the government that has proved its success and has delivered a better outcome for our nation—nearly a 30 per cent increase in the gross value of farm production since we have been in government. Even in the member for Calare's seat, we've seen that the gross value of wool has increased by 15 per cent since 2012-13, and the gross value of beef has increased by 15 per cent since 2012-13. The member for Calare is very proud of the $4 billion Regional Investment Corporation being set up in Orange.

But there is always a threat, and of course the threat is power prices. We've seen what the Labor Party can do to power prices. Just look at South Australia. What a fiasco! What a catastrophe—Labor Party power policy! When we try to get behind it, this is what we get from the member for Port Adelaide. In regard to Liddell, he says: 'We don't have a problem with old plants closing. The problem is we don't have a plan.' I can understand that. That is the problem the Labor Party have. They stand away from their belief in those workers. They stand away from the blue-collar workers whom they once upon a time represented.

It doesn't just stop there. It was very interesting to see the other day that Michael Costa, former Labor Party Treasurer of New South Wales, said this about the member for Maribyrnong:

Bill should remember the electricity market reforms were started by the Keating government. He is sounding more and more like a left-wing socialist ideologue. Labor's 50 per cent renewable energy target is a further betrayal of blue-collar workers …

That's coming from one of their own, talking about the betrayal of blue-collar workers, because they'd rather play parlour games than actually represent the people in regional Australia, including their own members—the people in Shortland, Hunter, Townsville and Newcastle. They have given up on their blue-collar workers for the basket weavers, and they turn their back on the Australian people. That's why the Leader of the Opposition's personal approval polling goes down. His goes up; yours goes down. That's what happens, because they believe the Leader of the Opposition's just a little bit shifty. They believe he's just a little bit shifty, and that's why this debate has— (Time expired)

Ms Butler interjecting—

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