George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to comment on the spectacle we have seen this week from this government. It has been absolutely disgraceful. The disunity and the chaos we have seen on the other side has all come to a head today. My constituents in Central and North Queensland are absolutely outraged. While this government is worrying about one job—the question of who will be Prime Minister—my constituents are worried about jobs in their area. Job security is the number one issue, followed by the cost of living. We have people losing jobs on a daily basis. We have businesses closing down. Another one came to me today and told me they were closing down and all their employees were going. This is happening on a weekly basis throughout Central and North Queensland. Businesses are closing down because of the downturn in the mining industry caused by this government's policies. Car dealers, car hire companies and businesses in the mining services sector are all closing down with their jobs being shed.

And what have we got from this government? A squalid debacle. A fight between the members for Lalor, Griffith and Hotham over who is going to have the prime ministership. This is not helping my constituents. This is all about power. It is not about people. Politics should be about the people. I say: let the people have a say now. Forget the leadership spill. Let's have an election.