Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I'll take the invitation from the member for Dawson, at the risk of making him happy. I note that when we speak on an agriculture bill, which is the next item of business, again there are no coalition speakers—oh, sorry: bar one. At least half a dozen members of the opposition are speaking on this important agriculture bill, but just one from the coalition. I noticed Mr Gee, the member for Calare, was on the list earlier, and he's somehow disappeared. How dare they come in here and feign concern and support for coalminers? How dare they? They've been sitting over there for four or five years taking every opportunity to vote with the Prime Minister on so many issues that are contrary to the interests of our coalminers. There is no better supporter of the coalmining industry in this place, and that is well known. So how dare the member for Dawson suggest he's supporting the coalmining industry? He wasn't prepared to stand up on penalty rates, by the way. He's sitting back while enterprise bargaining in the private sector is in decline, including in the coalmining industry. Contracting out in the coalmining industry is growing exponentially. Under this government, coalminers are being locked out of their mine sites in Queensland, and the member for Dawson wants to come in here with his colleagues and feign concern for coalminers. Well, what hypocrisy—hypocrisy writ large.

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