Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and minister for regional development. The then Deputy Prime Minister said in July:

The likelihood of Joyce getting endorsement from his party room to agree to net zero is zero. That's where the net zero lies.

Is there still a zero chance of the minister for regional development supporting net zero? What is the impact of net zero by 2050 on the regions?

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 concur that the Nationals do concern ourselves with regional Australia. That's what we do and that's why we're here. We as a party are exclusively from regional areas and so of course we're going to be mindful of making sure that we understand the role of this parliament and how lives in regional areas are affected. That is our job. I think people would think a lot less of us if we weren't diligent about the facts, if we didn't take a real sense of prudence to how we have oversight of discussions that could have huge ramifications for regional areas, especially by 2050.

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

The leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting.

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

That leads me to where your own party is on this and the sort of diligence, or lack of it, that you have shown in your attention to exactly what happens in regional areas. Might I pose a question to the honourable member?

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

No.

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

Might I make a statement? You have got no idea beyond your statement about exactly what the ramifications are for the people of Singleton, what the ramifications are for the people of Gladstone, what the ramifications are in Sale, what the ramifications are in Muswellbrook, what the ramifications are in Busselton, what the ramifications are in Longreach, what the ramifications are in Townsville and in Mount Isa and in the Hunter. We don't just represent or have a heart for the inner suburbs and then drag regional areas along as something that is taken for granted. We take them to heart. We are totally and utterly focused on regional areas, so I concur that we are prudent and diligent if you are asking: are we prudent, are we diligent, are we making sure we go through this? Yes, we are. Of course the member for Grayndler doesn't agree with that.