Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to respond to misinformation being pedalled by the member for Lingiari about the coalition's role in the shutdown of Rio Tinto in Gove. I welcome the member's return after five months of sulking after being left out of the shadow ministry. As usual his bile and his deceit require clarification and correction.

He knows that Labor governments were in power, both in the Northern Territory and in Canberra, when rumblings first emerged that Rio was looking to wind back its Gove operation. In fact, when the Territory Labor government was negotiating its export licence agreement with Rio, it ignored advice to link the operation of the refinery with its ability to export bauxite. Ignoring that advice now means that Rio can still export bauxite while closing down its refinery. That is why more than 1,000 jobs in Gove will be lost.

Where was the federal Labor government while this was happening? They were fighting amongst themselves about who should be the leader. It is all well and good for Mr Snowdon, the member for Lingiari, to tell the coalition government what it should be doing to address this crisis, but this crisis was created by Labor governments here and in Darwin.

I would also like to remind the House that it was the member for Lingiari who could have saved 400 houses in my electorate and he did not. (Time expired)