Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

A little bit more tangible. They'll want something to take home to their partner. How are they going to pay for their house if the abattoir closes down? I don't think it's going to be a policy on carbon emission reductions. I think it's going to be: what is the government doing to make sure that, if this drought continues, I, as a meat worker, still have a job? The Labor Party won't ask those questions, but we are. We are in the process of working out precisely how we deal with issues such as that.

The drought has become more pronounced in the last years. You might have been in opposition for five years, and that's very understandable. If you look at how you performed, it's a wonder you're not there for 50 years. What we have to make sure of is that we continue on this path—a 100 per cent write-off for fencing, a 100 per cent write-off for water and, now, a 100 per cent write-off for all your fodder storage, and the extension and streamlining of the farm household allowance. We're making sure that the Regional Investment Corporation that we set up and that the Labor Party wants to get rid of is focused on making sure that, when the recovery phase comes, we're able to deliver an outcome back to regional Australia to keep the cash flow going. The stimulus package is a million dollars per council. I'm sure there is more we can do. I know that the Prime Minister has been made aware of that by the ardent efforts of such people as the member for Maranoa in making sure we go forward with a drought policy that actually delivers on this crisis. A great example of how a government works is how they deal with a crisis. Away from all the theatrics there is something very important: who is providing a path of real policy to deal with the crisis of the drought? I would suggest that the National Party and the Liberal Party, supported by such people as the member for Kennedy, are doing that. I would suggest that the Labor Party have said nothing. They have shown that, when a crisis is at their door, they have nothing to say except theatre—

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