Keith Pitt (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

We hear interjections about the environment. I've got to say the guarantees that are held by state governments for miners are extraordinary, yet, when they come to end of life, they go back and rehab it and you can't tell the difference. I've been to any number of these locations, whether it's McArthur River in the north or whether it's any of the ones in inland New South Wales. They have sold a high-quality product right around the world because people need it. It is why they come to Australia. It's why our economy has been so strong. Here, we see a Green-Labor deal that will damage our reputation, damage our economy and result in fewer jobs and fewer opportunities for Australians into the future. That is why I oppose it, and so do the coalition, and we will continue to do that. Our decisions will be based on the national interest, not the ideology of the Greens, not a dirty Green-Labor deal and not those individuals out there howling at the moon. We make practical decisions because it is necessary. These are jobs that matter in regional Australia, and that's why we fight for them.

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