Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank my fellow Queenslander for the characteristically colourful question. I think the House will forgive me for steering well clear of the pagan rituals and the tree gods, and I will spare the House a gallop through a couple thousand years of human history. I want to focus on two important parts of the member for Kennedy's question: one that I agree with and one that I respectfully disagree with.

Where we agree and where we have an affinity is the really quite immense contribution that the workers, industries and employers of regional Queensland make to our national economy. That's one of the reasons why I'm so proud that 71,000 workers in the member Kennedy's electorate will be getting a tax cut and 83,000 households will be getting energy bill relief in addition to the Queensland energy bill relief scheme. It's why I'm so proud of the investments we're making in the Flinders Highway and the Bruce Highway, and it's why a future made in Australia envisages an absolutely central role for places like the North West Minerals Province.

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