Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. Is it seriously the government's position that it would rather inflict a 32.5 per cent tax on rural and regional Australia than accept Labor's sensible 13 per cent compromise offer?

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. Just to know the honourable nature of the honourable opposition, I want to quote exactly what the National Farmers Federation said and then place it clearly before the Leader of the Opposition and see if he wishes to correct the record after misleading the House. The National Farmers Federation said:

To be clear: we continue to support 15% as the best policy outcome, but outcome of today cannot be 32.5%. We need 2 #getitdone.

So I ask, in reflection of the statement—and the question by the Leader of the Opposition, in the first instance—which was brought to his attention by part of my answer: is he going to correct the record or is this yet another indication of the person we have? The same person who knifed Prime Minister Gillard, the same person who knifed Prime Minister Rudd, the same person who let down the workers at Chiquita Mushrooms and the same person who let down the workers at CleanEvent is the same person who is now going to have Australian workers discriminated against in favour of overseas workers. That is the policy of the Australian Labor Party, which once upon a time used to represent labourers. But there are not many labourers in the Labor Party these days.

What we have is this swarmy, lubricious approach—this process of playing a game with regional Australia. It is the same sort of approach they used when they brought about the closure of the live cattle trade. We have negotiated from 32½ per cent down to 15 per cent. We have moved 17½ per cent because we believe it is right. We have showed how we are going to pay it as we go along. But what we have is the Labor Party starting at a rate of 10½ per cent. Why? Not because they believe in it and not because that is the rate they took to the last election—they did not; They took 32½ per cent to the last election.

What they wish to do is to create discontent, to destroy, to wreck and to bring the show down. That is what it is about here. They are led by a person who is not worthy to be the Prime Minister of Australia. That is the character assessment. Even the questions that he asks are not the truth. What are we going to do? Are we going to sit here? We have the opportunity for him to show some dignity, some political ethic. If we are prepared to move from 32½ per cent to 15 per cent, is it not too much for him to do the right thing by this afternoon and get this thing resolved?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask the Deputy Prime Minister to table the transcript he claimed to be reading from. If he is not willing to, I am happy to seek leave to table the transcript that the Leader of the Opposition earlier quoted from.

Mr Fitzgibbon interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hunter will cease interjecting.

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am happy to table it.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the minister.