Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Regrettably, I can. We actually believe that a strong resources sector is vital for a strong manufacturing sector. That is why we were utterly amazed to see Senator Rhiannon move a motion earlier this week in relation to a 'Save our steelworks' campaign in relation to Port Kembla, saying it has been 'the backbone of the Illawarra economy for more than 80 years'. Of course, 12 months ago Senator Rhiannon was in here saying, 'We've got to close this industry down. We've got to phase it out—the product the world no longer needs.' But, remarkably, Mr President, guess what: manufacturing of steel actually relies very heavily on the availability of coking coal. Who provides the bulk of the coking coal to the Illawarra steelworks? Port Kembla. It is Illawarra. So, on the one hand, we have got this unholy partnership between the wreckers on that side and those who want to grow the nation on this side— (Time expired)