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

I congratulate Senator Lambie on her initial comments, realising they were not her first speech. Acting Deputy President Bernardi, as you would know, I had a business in Tasmania from the mid-1990s through until the early part of the last decade. In fact, it coincided with the then Rundle Liberal coalition government losing power. In my first years in Tasmania I watched with dismay as the Labor government, lead then by Mr Bacon, gradually dismantled what was in fact a very proud and a relatively wealthy island state. I have seen the extent today of unemployment, the extent of underemployment, the extent of movement of people away from Tasmania and, as I hope Senator Dio Wang is able to realise, the extent to which now other states of Australia, particularly our state of Western Australia, have had to support Tasmania, so I applaud any effort at all that actually will see a return to economic wellbeing of that state. I congratulate the new senators. I congratulate Senator Lazarus on his contribution earlier this afternoon and I congratulate Senator Lambie on the position that she has taken with regard to supporting the Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013 [No. 2], and it is on that that I wish to speak this afternoon.

It is always delightful to follow Senator Cameron, because Senator Cameron has a way of twisting the truth. In fact, I do not think Senator Cameron and certainly my side are on the same page. You hear Senator Cameron talking about lies again and again and again. You have cause to reflect and to wonder: who was it who said in 2010, 'There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead'? Was it not, in fact, Ms Gillard? Indeed, it was Ms Gillard. I will make the observation now and I will make it again in contributions as I have the opportunity over time, and I make this distinction: when Ms Gillard told us that lie, as indeed it was, and then she reversed it, it was for her own personal interest and it was for the interest of the then Labor and Greens government. Any action that has been taken by Prime Minister Abbott and his cabinet and our side of politics since we came into government in September last year has been directed at the wellbeing of the people of Australia.