Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I accept the interjection by the member opposite. Right now in the seat of Morwell, the count is about 50-50 between the former National Party member turned Independent, against the Labor Party candidate. Labor's primary vote has dropped 20 per cent in the last 20 years. As a local MP, I'm very proud to stand up for the power station workers in the Latrobe Valley. I stand up for the workers at the Australian Paper mill as well. I stand up for the workers at the timber mills that the Andrews government has sought to shut down as well. When it comes to natural resource management in the seat of Gippsland, the Australian Labor Party has sold out blue-collar workers in their enthusiasm to try and harvest green votes in the city. It's like they’ve swapped their high-vis vests and steel-capped boots for skivvies and canvas loafers. They’ve sold out every blue-collar worker they can.

This government, this side of the House, is determined to provide reliable and affordable base-load energy—

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