Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I do not need protection, Mr Acting Deputy President, from people like Senator Polley and Senator Whish-Wilson—because they do not want anyone to hear the truth of the matter. If they are concerned about unemployed people, they should do something to get them a job. That is the greatest thing any government can do for young people, for old people or for anyone—to give them the dignity of a job. If you followed the Greens' dictates, if you followed the Greens' policies, you would never have a forestry industry, you would never have a mining industry and you would never have a manufacturing industry. You would have no industries that create jobs in Australia. As usual, the Greens—and, I regret to say, the Labor Party by supporting them—show their hypocrisy and humbug on the question of unemployment.

Senator Whish-Wilson interjecting—

I hope Senator Whish-Wilson uses this debate to explain what he did to save those jobs at Bell Bay, what he did to save those jobs in the forestry industry and what he did to save the jobs at Toyota and Holden—those manufacturing industries that went overseas. Why did they go overseas? Because the Greens—

Senator Whish-Wilson interjecting—