Arthur Sinodinos (NSW, Liberal Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

The one thing we must not do going forward is to repeat some of the errors of the past. Under the former government, we had the debacle of the live cattle industry being closed down overnight on the back of a Four Corners report. Imagine closing a whole industry overnight, leaving them in uncertainty. Imagine if you did that in George Street in Sydney. Imagine if you closed down the whole street and told all those retailers: 'You're now closed down. We don't know when you will be able to open again. We can't make any commitments as to how we will compensate you or when you can open again.' That was a debacle. That was, I think, a defining point in the relationship with Indonesia, but going forward we have been able to revive the trade and give them the assurance that they will not face that sort of uncertainty in the future. You cannot treat major trading partners or any country like that. The supreme arrogance of saying that these domestic interests or concerns could— (Time expired)