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

This Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Bill 2013 is going to be basically waved through. It will be supported. It is interesting that one of its grand architects—because they are concerned about coal and coal-seam gas—that sits behind this is none other than the independent member for New England, Mr Windsor, who sold his place to Werris Creek coal, a subsidiary of Whitehaven, for $4.625 million, which is $2,000 an acre—rather a good price, if you can get it!

In 2010, who was the minister in New South Wales? Let us see if we can remember. That is right! Wasn't it Macdonald? Wasn't Ian Macdonald the minister at that time? What was going on? It was just a very good price—a great price; such a good price that he then went on to spend another $5.9 million buying other places over near Coonamble which are also under coal licences. What a good trick! That is just a great trick.

No matter where you go with his crowd, you end up back at Macdonald and Obeid—not the good Senator Macdonald, but the other, former minister, Macdonald—because Minister Macdonald was the minister in New South Wales when Mr Windsor sold his place for a very good price; for a very good price. We have to remember that they said, 'We believe that we should have the proper environmental protections.' They set up these traps. The traps do not work. But it is a question we rightly want to ask: how do you manage to sell your place for such a good price? How do you manage to get three times what it is worth? How do you manage to do that? How do you manage to get such a good price for your place? I do not know. Do you know? How do you? I would like to sell my place for three times the price. How do I do it? How do you do it these days? It is such a great trick.

Debate interrupted.