Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

He said:

Coal mining began as soon as European settlement began and it permeates every aspect of life in the Hunter.

Then in March this year he said:

Clean coal is a lie; it is not the future for this nation. In fact, it is doing a great disservice to the coal communities of this country to dangle the prospect of future coal-fired generation in this country.

Well, in 3½ years coalmining went from 'permeating every aspect of life in the Hunter' to having no prospect at all! Now, that tells you a lot about the Labor Party.

The Labor Party is riven by ideology and idiocy. Our policies are based on engineering and economics. We see a role for every form of generation: for coal, for renewables and for gas, right across the board. Our objective and our policy is designed deliver affordable, reliable power while meeting our international obligations to reduce emissions. The member for Shortland has utterly failed his constituency in his abandonment of the interests of the people he claims to represent.

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