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

I can tell you that there is a very clear and simple difference. I do not accept, and the government does not accept, that we must choose between the reef and coal. We do not accept that proposition. We absolutely reject it.

Senator Waters, this is the first time I can recall when, in one of your questions about the Great Barrier Reef, you have referred to the issue of employment and jobs. I can tell you, as somebody who has visited the region very recently, that what people in central and northern Queensland are concerned about is jobs. And one of their greatest concerns is the attempt to stop the development of the Adani mine in the Galilee Basin, which people in that region—which you, Senator Waters, are meant to represent in this place—see as one of the great hopes for their future employment security.