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

You have now decided to put your hands on it. I understand it perfectly, and I think you should understand it a bit better; otherwise, you are not being completely honest with us. It is not a good day for the Australian investor. It is not necessary; it is not required. The fact that it completely reflects what happens overseas is not right; in so many other countries this is not the case. It seems to state that we are somehow lacking in foreign investment, but we are not. So this is going to be an interesting time.

However, there is not a hell of lot we can do about it now. It is one of those peculiar things everybody gets to see, where the Labor Party decides that they are going to discriminate against Australian investors. This will be an interesting vote. It will go to a division. I do not know which side of the Labor Party would actually want this. Maybe you could tell me: is it the right, the centre left or the far left? Which part of the Labor Party is big on the idea of turbocharging the takeover of Australian companies to be broken up so that jobs can be moved overseas? Is that the TWU, Senator Sterle, or is there another group that wants this? I am fascinated. Maybe someone can suggest to me which side of the Labor Party wants to move jobs overseas.

With this $100 billion, if they were not investing in Home Depot and they turned their attention to Australia—we know they are out there: KKR has money to burn and that is just one of many—what would be your plan of attack after you put this through? What will be your plan of attack when they start breaking up Australian companies and losing Australian jobs? Aren’t you going to feel just a bit duplicitous when you go back to the working people, as you fondly call them, and say, ‘We’re going to fight for our laws if there are any of you left employed in Australia’?