Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The worst thing that the coalition could do—the worst thing that the National Party could do and the worst thing that the Liberal Party could do—is support this package, because that would indicate that we support the absolute load of rubbish that went through the parliament today.

You will be happy to know that tonight I have spent most of the time speaking to the good people of Western Sydney, generally on talkback radio, and they are not happy. I thought there was some emotion here, but it is nothing to the emotion that is pouring down the phone lines, and you are so, so foolish for what you have done. I will put it this way: when are you most affronted—before you have been ripped off or after you have been ripped off? Now we are talking to people post being ripped off, and the post-ripped-off people are ready to go you as hard as they can. They see you as being completely usurped by the Greens. They see you as basically in a policy cohabitation with a party which will bring about the demise of our nation, and they hold you totally and utterly responsible for it. These people are not happy.

These people were your heart and soul. These were the people who supported you. There is never so much venom as when a person from your family finds out they have been deserted by their own parents. This is the emotion that these people have for you. I do not know how you have done this. How foolish you have been to get yourselves into this position. All of that backslapping and kissing and hugging has gone over like a bomb. It has gone over like an absolute bomb. It is like you are ambivalent about the people of the working-class suburbs, where everyone now believes that they are a collection mechanism for the Australian Taxation Office by reason of their power point, by reason of this new tax.

For what? Why is it evil to iron clothes? Why is it evil to cook dinner? Why is it evil to try and keep yourself warm in winter and cool in summer? Why have you done this to them? Why did you do it to them? But you do not care. It is all because the beautiful people have taken over. You are too wise for them now. You have gone beyond them. You have evolved. Well, you are going to evolve all the way to the ballot box and then you are going to be absolutely and utterly annihilated. I just cannot work it out. To be honest, politically you could have had us on toast, but you did this to yourselves. You were so, so foolish—so naive.

Anyway, I will start on the Steel Transformation Plan Bill. Here is a quote that I am absolutely fascinated by. This is from a very wise person. This is what this wise person said:

There is one point that is very important to understand. A nation without a steel industry is a nation without a manufacturing industry. It is also a nation without a defence industry.

This person is clued up. They went on:

Without the steel industry of this country we lose thousands of jobs—

this is a very wise person—

and we lose export opportunity.

This person went on to say:

It defies logic that a nation like ours, with natural resources in iron ore and coal, with leading infrastructure, leading technology and a massive improvement in labour productivity, cannot see itself developing an expanded steel making industry.

I will give you a hint who said it. He then finished by saying, 'It would never have happened under Labor.' So who is this wise sage? I am interested in this person. This is a noble person. I want to meet him. He wants to protect my manufacturing industry—so do I. He wants to protect the defence of my nation—so do I. I want to do that. He says that if we lose the steel industry we lose thousands of jobs. I agree with this person. This person is a must. I must meet this person. Who is this person? It is Simon Crean, on 29 May 1997, in a House of Representatives matter of public importance debate on the steel industry.

So what did Simon Crean do the other day? He voted for a carbon tax. See, the Greens are voting, but they think coal is evil. You are cohabitating with these people. Coal is evil. You must close down all the coal industries, you doormats of the Left. You must close down the whole coal industry, because—