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

Absolutely, Madam Acting Deputy President. But it is a shame that Senator McLucas was not a better advocate for the people of North Queensland; they might have managed to broaden their economic base rather than narrowing it, rather than shutting it down and exacerbating unemployment issues in that part of the world. We shut down so much at the whim of those in the inner suburbs of Sydney. It would be handy if we had advocates in the north that had the capacity to stand up for those people. But they do not. Sometimes they do not even stand up there.

One would hope that the concentration of attention on that area is keeping the economic base open, keeping the fishing grounds working and broadening the economic base, not letting the Greens run riot and shut the show down. But maybe these bills can in some way assist a certain party to get a higher vote, because, if we break down the stringency of how people are able to enrol, that might well work to a certain party's advantage. It might well work as an addition to the serious questions that have been asked in certain areas of our state already.