Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

How can Senator Brown go up and say he is a friend of the Mary River when he is going to put in place next Saturday a set of preference deals that could make a huge difference? I really cannot understand how people can fall for this. I do not think the people of Queensland will fall for it.

Getting back to the debate: it has been a failure of the state Labor government. They did not do anything at 3.12 in the morning when they were advised that the ship was in trouble. They did not do anything until Thursday, 12 March, late in the afternoon. They let it happen. If any responsible minister in any responsible government got a message that there was a ship in trouble in 200-kilometre-an-hour cyclonic winds, was leaking oil and had dropped 32 containers of ammonium nitrate over the side, they would have alarm bells ringing in their ears in one second. The first thing they would do is ring the Environmental Protection Agency and all the other agencies and say: ‘We have a problem; stand by because you will be needed.’ But no, McNamara was swanning around his electorate, not particularly worried about anything. Anna Bligh said that it was under control when the Lord Mayor asked her whether she needed any help. Paul Lucas was not particularly worried. What sort of government is this? What sort of a government has a minister that cannot recognise a ship in 200-kilometre-an-hour winds in trouble— (Time expired)