Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Bernardi interjects: undoubtedly, the uncertainty arose on Q&A. One wonders where. In this debate about this particular fishing venture, I note that we have had a senator whose great intellectual input has been: 'I don't care about the science. I don't care about the economics; I'm just against it.' With great respect, how do you engage in public policy if you say to people, 'I'm not interested in the science. I'm not interested in the economics; I’m just against it'? You cannot really have a rational debate on that score.

And, of course, it was a Greens senator that said that. So when the minister in this Greens-ALP alliance is confronted with a Greens senator saying, 'I don't want to argue the science with you; I don't want to argue the economics with you,' the reason he could not argue is because there was no scientific or economic argument in his quiver to shoot in this debate. He had to say, 'It's the vibe; it was the heart flutters.' It was undoubtedly that which convinced him. Armed with that great intellectual argument he went to the minister, no doubt, and said, 'Please make a change.' As compliant as they are, this Greens-ALP government, they will always do that which the Greens insist upon.

Let us make no mistake: every single person who wants to invest in Australia or who is concerned about making a contribution to the growing wealth of our country will have to think twice under this Greens-ALP alliance because they have a fisheries minister who is signing off on a strategy to which you say, 'That's a good idea; I might adopt that—I'll invest on that basis.' Then that same minister, under a little bit of pressure from the Greens, says, 'Right, I know you've made all these investments; I know you've employed 45 unemployed people; we are now going to change the rules on you.' The reason: 'I feel uncertain about the science,' or 'I feel uncertain about the social implications,' or 'I feel uncertain about the environmental implications.' Excuse me, but should a minister not be required to provide some robust material which tells us why this minister has this uncertainty? Now the minister can just say, 'I'm sorry, I'm uncertain.'