Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

I'll take the interjection from the minister at the table. He now thinks that Australia does things—what—relative to China and relative to the main producers around the world? There is no manufacturing. This is the problem with this government. Even the industry minister thinks that suddenly Australia actually has an opportunity cost advantage over China on solar panels. This is the cluelessness of this government, but I don't think it's cluelessness. I don't even give him the benefit of the doubt of not knowing what he's talking about. I actually think it's deceitful. I think it's all part of the vile ruse of the Labor Party.

Here they talk about comparative advantage of a nation, and their first announcement is actually about something that China has the full advantage in. Even this industry minister does not know that, or is he, like his colleagues, being deceitful because he knows Australia does not have a comparative advantage on the manufacturing of solar panels relative to other countries? That's what a comparative advantage is.

Why don't we go to quantum computing? That was their second announcement. Who are the beneficiaries of this? Is it really a company that is Australian, or is it an American one? It's an American one. So how about that? The first two announcements actually don't even go to Australia's comparative advantage, and the industry minister here, which I think is quite funny, actually thinks all of these are an advantage. I don't know; what's the third biggest advantage, Minister?

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