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

Once again, there is the false assertion that we are betting the whole of Australia's future prosperity on the coal industry. Who has ever asserted that? Nobody other than the Leader of the Australian Greens, trying to put a false assertion into the ether and hoping that if it is repeated enough it will somehow get accepted as fact in the media and in the public. We will not allow the Australian Greens to so grossly misrepresent the Australian government's position on this or indeed any other matter.

Is the coal industry an important part of the Australian economy and an important part of our prosperity? Is it important for the jobs and wellbeing of many thousands of our fellow Australians? The answer to all the above questions is yes. We as a government support the coal industry, the jobs that it provides and the wealth that it provides to help pay off the Labor-Greens debt legacy that we have been saddled with. (Time expired)