Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have not even got to Tasmania yet; I am still dealing with South Australia. I ask you: How much is the state of South Australia receiving in the GST distribution? The answer is $5.1 billion. Others than me can calculate and divide the number of residents of South Australia into the $5.1 billion, and they will find out exactly how much each South Australian is receiving. I have an absolute interest, as an Australian and as a Western Australian, in seeing these lands freed up for mineral exploration. As our Premier, Mr Barnett, has said, Western Australians are sick and tired of paying up for the national park island to the south of the mainland.

Senator Whish-Wilson interjecting—

Fortunately now—through you, Madam Acting Deputy President, to Senator Whish-Wilson—with a change of government in Tasmania to a Hodgman-led government, we will start to see a reversal. Time does not allow me, in my 11 minutes and 15 seconds, to reflect on my own experience in business in Tasmania and the reason why I ultimately sold that business and returned to Western Australia.

I want to echo the words of Senator Bishop when he spoke about the benefits of the mining industry to a state and to a nation. Senator Farrell, in your last days here in the Senate I ask you to have an influence on your colleagues when they continually go on about these minerals under the ground being the property of all across the nation. Unless we have seen a change in the Constitution of this country in recent times—and I do not think we have—then the royalties for the minerals under the ground in each state belong to that state. It is for that reason largely that Western Australia does contribute that $15.5 billion net; whereas all of the other states, with the exception of New South Wales and Victoria, are recipients—as are this small territory, the ACT, and the Northern Territory. It is also, Senator Farrell—through you, Madam Acting Deputy President—why I am so keen to see these Woomera lands opened up—of course, to respect the military past.

Senator McEwen was quite right when she said that it was always interesting and deeply mysterious to us, this Woomera land. What went on there? Who was there? We heard about the people from different nations who came to work. We heard about the scientific advances that were made at Woomera, but we never knew very much about it. Senator Fawcett, in his contribution, was able to expand on the information available to us.

What a shame it is that the ALP and the Greens stood with their foot on the hose to prevent the committee meeting in late August or September of 2013. Otherwise today we could have dealt with the committee—the committee could have presented its report, made its recommendations, put them before this chamber—and we could be well ahead of where we are on 20 March. But Senator Farrell need not spend too much time anxiously waiting, because it is my understanding that the hardworking Defence minister, Senator Johnston, and his team have now done the hard work. They have done the work that the ALP and the Greens denied us doing leading up to September 2013, and it is my understanding that it will not be long before the promised legislation, by Senator Johnston, will actually come before this chamber.

I hope we will see a reversal of South Australia's fortunes. I hope we will see a reversal of South Australia's political fortunes, because we spent 2010 to 2013 with a hung minority government federally, and no Australian enjoyed it. If you in South Australia find yourselves for the next four years in the position that this federal entity found itself in from 2010 to 2013, I assure you that you will not be out of your economic demise.

That allows me in my final few moments to reflect again on the importance of the Western Australian Senate election coming up 5 April, because heaven forbid we have a circumstance beyond that where this chamber becomes the reason for the obstruction of the passage of good legislation through this Australian parliament. The people of Australia voted very, very clearly in September 2013 as to what they wanted for this government federally. Nationally they said, 'We want an Abbott-led coalition government.' In my home state of Western Australia we won on the primary. Don't worry about the preferences; we won on the primary. We returned three very, very credible and honourable senators in that election: Senator Johnston; Senator Cash, the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection; and a wonderful person, Linda Reynolds, who is, I believe, the highest ranked female in the Australian Army. What a travesty it would be if on 5 April anything prevented Ms Reynolds from taking her place in this chamber as Senator Linda Reynolds after 1 July.

But that is what we are possibly facing in South Australia. We are possibly facing what we may be condemned to nationally. It allows me to urge the two Independents in South Australia to have a look at the future of that state; to have a look at the opportunity that presents to South Australia after so many years of failed Labor government in that state; to see what their own constituents want of them; to see that this particular bill before us today is an example of why the ALP must be moved out—an example of the lack of credibility of my colleagues on the other side, who came into this chamber and challenged and questioned why it was that Senator Johnston was not able to bring this forward by December 2013, when they themselves were the very reason why that did not happen.

In my concluding comments—because I know we have two very fine and honourable South Australian senators following me in making a contribution, on my left hand and on my right—I say simply this: when that legislation comes through, when it comes through in the best form, when it comes through in the form that it will, having been the subject of all of the established analyses that have to happen, all of the regulatory impact statements—do you remember that term, Senator Farrell, through you, Madam Acting Deputy President Ruston?