Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

When the preselection is settled, I would be happy to talk to you about it. I am sure you and I will talk about it ad nauseam at airport lounges when we discuss what is likely to happen to the man whom you are so passionately defending—which I can never really understand, I have to say. Anyway. I am sure it is a faction based thing, because you have absolutely nothing in common. I have some regard for your intellect, for starters! That is the one clear difference between the two of you. But anyway. As I say, if you want to talk about preselection candidates, I am happy to engage in that later on.

Interestingly, Mr Cheeseman gave a speech on 9 September 2009 in relation to rising sea levels but posted on his website in March 2010 the speech that he was not allowed to give. Presumably he would requ­est that the rising sea be made a marine park. He posted this speech on his website. It was not the speech that he actually gave. It said:

The Great Ocean Road Mr Speaker, an icon of Australia and the engine room of our local tourism economy, will be largely destroyed.

It will be breached in place after place, if sea level rise is as expected.

Huge swathes of the Bellarine Peninsula will be inundated.

Current areas of the mainland will be cut off and become islands.

Queenscliffe will become an island.

The area from Barwon Heads to Breamlea will become an island.

What drives this man? This is all in defence of Labor's toxic carbon tax. I want to talk about that carbon tax and, indeed, rising sea levels and the requirement, presumably from the Labor Party's point of view, for more marine parks to take in this massive inunda­tion of what is currently land. I presume that will form part of the discussions in relation to the act at some stage further down the track. What was very interesting indeed was to look at the view of the people of Geelong in a recent survey of some 800 people. In that survey the people of Geelong made it quite clear that they do not and will not accept Labor's toxic carbon tax.

This was the outcome of their voting intention in relation to the carbon tax. I should throw this in because it is probably of some interest to honourable senators as well. The question was: is the federal government doing a good job? What do my colleagues think? Would 10, 15 or 20 per cent be the 'strongly agree' figure? No, it was not; 1.6 per cent of people in Geelong strongly agree that the Labor government is doing a good job. Neither agree nor disagree: 29.5 per cent; disagree: 29.9 per cent; strongly disagree: 25.1 per cent of people in the Geelong region. In relation to the carbon tax, the question was: do you support or reject the general concept of a carbon tax? Support: 22.9 per cent; reject: 53.5 per cent of the 800 people surveyed.