Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I think that is an insult to Sergeant Schultz, Senator Bernardi. I think Minister Burke's activities and actions go way beyond Sergeant Schultz. I think that is an insult to Sergeant Schultz. I have a bit of time for a Sergeant Schultz, Senator Bernardi, much more than I have for the minister.

In fact, at the last election we saw this minister, after three years in the agriculture portfolio, did not even bring down an agriculture policy. A 1½-page statement was all he could manage. What a legacy! A legacy of failure! We often wondered what he did, and he is now wondering what he did, because he does not know. He has no recollection of his own actions, he has no recollection of the work that he did in conjunction with his fisheries department during the time he was in the ministerial chair, and he now wants to rush through this parliament a piece of legislation which is effectively a vote of no-confidence in his own decisions. I do not see why the opposition should support that.

Obviously, the legislation can come on in due course—that is fine—but why should we trash the reputation of the AFMA commissioners that he appointed to administer management systems that he put in place as fisheries minister, and at the same time trash the reputations of our world-leading fisheries management scientists? That is part of the process we are being asked to deal with here today, because it is now urgent. The minister says it is now urgent. I have to say that the only thing I think we can take out of this is that the minister is pushing for, and looks to succeed in passing, a motion of no-confidence in his own actions as fisheries minister.