Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources and Minister for Resources and Northern Australia: Will the minister update the House on the importance of energy security and affordability to hardworking regional Australians, particularly in the agriculture industry? What are the obstacles to securing the jobs and productivity of Australia's $60 billion agriculture industry?

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

I thank the honourable member for her question and note how important the cattle industry of Central Queensland, the coal industry and the cane industry are to the member for Capricornia. We understand how important it is that you have affordable power if you want to move water to irrigate sugar cane. We know how important it is to have affordable and reliable power to keep the meatworkers in a job in Rockhampton. We know how important it is to make sure that we stand behind coalminers and behind coal-fired power. We're not ashamed of that.

It is interesting that recently what we have seen is that the Labor Party have adopted the South Australian power policy. They believe in 50 per cent renewables, and now we see that in South Australia they have regressed back to diesel generators. They have nine diesel generators going into their power grid. If we wait around long enough, they'll be back to the horse and cart and donkeys. It's an amazing regression that has happened in the power policy of South Australia, and one would think that that would be a splendid example to avoid, but it's actually the splendid example that the Labor Party are going to replicate nationally so that we can have the chaos across our nation that they currently have in South Australia.

The member for Maribyrnong, the Leader of the Opposition, went to Central Queensland lately. We've been going through social media and we've been going through all his media releases, and there's one word he can't mention. It's a word that cannot mention its name. It's the Lord Voldemort of words. Guess what that word is: he can't say the four-letter word 'coal'. He can't say it. Maybe he'll come to the dispatch box. It's religious. It needs a psychologist to work this one out. He has a problem with it. He has a problem with the people of Collinsville. He has a problem with the people of Claremont. He has a problem with the coalminers at Moura. He has a problem with labourers in general. He has a problem with Bowen, because he's chasing all the votes in Balmain. He's left behind the blue-collar workers who used to be in the AWU, if I have to remind you. He does not believe in coalminers. He does not believe in steelworkers. He does not believe in power workers. He does not believe in anybody involved in the mining industry.

He goes to Central Queensland, and what is he going to give them? He's going to give them public transport. Well, I am sure that's going to be a big advantage for people in Alpha! They can now have a light rail to get the unemployed people from one side of town to the other side of town, because he won't stand behind the Galilee Basin. What are you going to do? Are you going to put a light rail down Herbert Street in Bowen? Is that the policy for Central Queensland? Why can't this person who used to be in the AWU actually start to represent labourers? Why has the Labor Party given up on labourers?

Why do you have such an aversion to cheap power? You know why you have an aversion to cheap power? Because you want cheap wages. (Time expired)