Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I can assure Senator Milne that I was not aware of whatever that company's name was, but they adopted what is a very common-sense statement—that is, that coal genuinely has the capacity to lift people out of poverty. If it is a fact, I do not care if Senator Milne says it, I will adopt it. I do not care who says something if it is an objective fact. I would encourage anybody else to tell us how else you can lift people out of poverty other than through an energy supply that is reliable and cheap. Whatever company it was that may have said it, it is a statement of truth, a statement that we support. The cleaner the coal they can use, the better—and who has some of the cleanest coal in the world? We have. (Time expired)