Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

They are obviously in a spot of bother, aren’t they? You can see that they are in a spot of bother. Rather than going down this red-herring path, let us get back to talking about independents. But we will deal with the issues so they do not say we are avoiding them. Senator O’Brien has said that his amendment was identical, word for word, to the Democrat amendment. That is either going to be the truth—and I will check—or it will not be the truth. I stand to be corrected—I will read it—but I do not think it is. Nonetheless, let us go back.

First of all, if that is the sentiment then I have supported it. I have voted for it. I crossed the floor on it. You cannot support it much more than crossing the floor to support the sentiment. Secondly, the Democrats actually approached me—they rang up, went through it and well and truly discussed the issue. You have well and truly discussed this issue right now, so do not try and use that as an avenue out. You are telling me all the things that you think are possibly wrong with it, and we are proving you wrong on all of them, but the only thing you are proving to us is that you have never actually come up with an amendment to protect the independents. You have come up with an amendment to protect—and we have laid it on the line; in fact, I crossed the floor to bring about the Dawson review—provisions in the Dawson bill. So I am on the record there as well. I crossed the floor to support your sentiment then, and I also crossed the floor on the other issues—I voted with you to protect small business on the other Dawson provisions by taking out the mergers and acquisitions power. So my position is pretty clear on the record. I think everybody in Australia knows that.

Your position is also totally clear: you have absolutely nothing on the table, not one amendment, to protect independents, to protect regional towns and to protect the freedom of people to go into the business. You have nothing. What you have on the record is the fact that, when required, the Labor Party will play to the tune of the major oil companies and if they have to walk over a few bodies on the way they will do that. We know that absolutely. If they have to make hypocrites of themselves by calling for a certain argument, they say, ‘We must let the market reign supreme today, but—wait for it—next week our views will be different.’ But I am going to sit back, because you really have got my interest. I am going to grab your amendment and the Democrats’ amendment, and I am going to check them word for word. If they are word for word correct, I will happily stand up and say, ‘Yes, they’re word for word correct,’ but I have a funny feeling that they will not be.