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

They are, once again, trawling through the gossip columns of the newspapers and referring to unattributed comments. That is what excites Senator Sterle and that is what excites Senator Wong. That is what excites the Labor Party. Do you know what excites us? What excites us are the 336,000 new jobs since we got into government; a plan for the expansion of our agriculture sector; a plan for northern Australia; and a plan to ensure that we can stand within the world community, providing a 50 per cent per capita reduction in our CO2 emissions without destroying jobs and our economy. They are the things that motivate us. That is what excites me and, I must say, makes me very thankful that I am privileged to be part of a coalition government dedicated to the service of the people of Australia, rather than dealing in innuendo and gossip columns, which are of no benefit to the people of Australia.