David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Sterle needs to understand—and of course I am happy to assist him—that our mineral exporters use two things to get their minerals from the mines to the ports, and they are road and rail. Let me tell you, Western Australia has never been more successful on the international stage in achieving cost efficiency in doing that. In answering Senator Sterle’s question, I want to pause to provide a little assessment of what Labor brings to the party. I want to quote the chairman, I think it was, or the CEO, of BHP Billiton who said:

As it stands, the ALP’s proposed IR policy will not only abolish AWAs, it will also effectively get rid of the mining industry’s ability to capitalise on the current huge demand for minerals.

That is their contribution to mining. (Time expired)