George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

No, Senator, we will not. Nor will we take delight or joy, as you seem to be doing, in seeing Australian businesses producing Australian jobs suffering. We will not enjoy the sight, we will not enjoy the thought, of the great Australian coalmining industry suffering economic disadvantage—no, we will not.

Like the Queensland Labor government, we the federal coalition government support the Adani mine. We support the jobs that it will create, we support the safeguards and measures that have been put in place by the federal Minister for the Environment, Mr Hunt, and we will always support the Australian mining industry. For the people particularly of central Queensland, this is not an academic question. This is not an academic question to be discussed at inner city cafes. This is about their livelihoods, this is about their jobs, and you should treat those people with a bit more respect.