Steve Hutchins (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

You should not be proud. It is a terrible thing to have had it done in this way, considering what we all know of the difficulties confronting our fellow Australians in rural and regional Australia.

Let me continue. There was another one mentioned called Country Homes and Cabins. This again comes from your state, Senator Ian Macdonald. This involved the production of a facility in Central Queensland for the production of relocatable houses. Firstly, it was not initially approved. Secondly, it was approved after representations from the local member. There was no evidence the applicant had ever been provided with notice that their application had been denied. The federal member acted on advance notice when requesting the review. The shortcomings were identified in the original DOTARS assessment, and it was not addressed in the, later, approved submission.

Again, how can this be a way to conduct government? No wonder the people of Australia turned to the Labor Party on 24 November last year. Indeed, the coalition has lost its way. We are all well aware of the divisions within the coalition throughout the country and the steps taken to try to rectify them. In Queensland, as we all know, they have been at each others throats for years.