John Madigan (Victoria, Democratic Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am not terrifying them; they are telling me this. It is not my job to sell your policy. I cannot even get the answers when I sit in the Senate Committee on the Scrutiny of New Taxes. We were told that we cannot get a copy of the model. I have asked the question in the house: 'Did the government model the impact of this on regional Australia and places like the Latrobe Valley?' They said, 'No, there was no specific modelling done.'

These are the sorts of concerns that these people are raising. I hear you say that there are going to be new jobs. People ask me, 'Where are they?' I am told that there are people out there explaining these new policies and selling the tax to the community. But they have not been seen. The average people have not seen them. They are confused and they are scared. These are not my words; they are their words. They tell me about the people who committed suicide following the privatisation and the loss of their jobs. They tell me about the drug abuse. They tell me about the domestic violence. They tell me about the whole social re-engineering in the Latrobe Valley. I cannot dismiss their claims. There are many empty shops in the Latrobe Valley. Go down there and have a look at the sorts of shops there because they are all the $2 shops. The thing about those sorts of shops is that they do not help the environment. One well-made article is better than 10 poorly made articles. If you want to help the environment, we need industries that manufacture and produce good articles. You help the environment, you help people and you help the economy that way.

Despite the supposed aim of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, we are told that emissions will increase. We have heavily subsidised wind farms and clean energy alternatives, and who knows if they are ever going to produce what is claimed. We have power companies that are now telling us that they are going to close down if they get enough money. I hope for everybody here, knowing how much power this place uses, that wind farms will produce the energy that is claimed. If these things shut down, what is going to replace them? Talking to former and current people in the power industry, they doubt these things—I do not know. What I do know is that they are people who live, work and produce the power that we all need. I believe this bill is a watershed for our community and our nation. I plead with people who have some integrity to please stop this bill now. Do not abandon it. If you feel it is something we truly need, work with it, get the figures right and open it to genuine, honest public debate and a forum which involves real people like the people in Moe, Morwell, Gippsland, Wendouree West, Doonside or wherever they may be. Be the leaders you were elected to be. The people of Australia did not elect a coalition government—neither a Liberal-National nor an ALP-Green government. On this and other issues, work with the Greens, not for them. Demonstrate that the ALP senators in this chamber are not only ALP members but members of the Australian Labor movement.