Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I said yesterday and I will say it again in the chamber: I have different view. I think the LNP opposition is doing a fantastic job against a very mediocre government in Queensland at the moment. That is for sure. What the good Senator Chisholm failed to do was to refer to the fact that Senator Brandis said that the government of Queensland was also 'very, very mediocre'. So he is selectively cherry-picking quotes. We all have opinions, Mr President, and we all have particular views. My view is that Queensland would do much better under a Liberal-National government, because a Liberal-National government would be getting on with the job of building things in Queensland—projects like Rookwood weir, near where I am. There are enormous opportunities up there.

One of your colleagues, Senator Watt, came up and had a meeting at the Trades Hall in Rockhampton last week. He spoke about 457 visas but did not say anything about Rookwood weir. He did not say anything about whether he supports the biggest job creating project in the region, the Rookwood weir, which will create 2,000 jobs in our region. Instead he was putting out a scare campaign about some 457s, which, I think, is about 300 jobs.

It does not make sense to me. There are real issues and Central Queensland that Liberal-National Party are focused on, creating jobs in the agricultural sector and creating jobs in the mining sector. We have had Mr Shorten up in Queensland last week and, from all reports I have seen and all the transcripts we have been through of Mr Shorten's interviews in regional Queensland, he did not mention the Adani coal mine once. He did not mention at once! It would create thousands of jobs for regional Queensland, but again it is the Labor Party that is doing nothing and has no plans for jobs in regional Queensland. That is why we would be much better off with a Liberal-National Party government in Queensland. They are doing a great job, and I cannot wait for the next state election.