Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia, I want to talk about regulations. Having listened to the socialists on my left in the Liberal and National parties, let's have a look at some of the regulations. I've also listened to the farmers who are doing it bloody tough, right up the whole of the east coast and in South Australia. Let's start with property rights being stolen from farmers due to John Howard's government policies, without compensation. Let's have a look at water prices that are now ridiculous thanks to speculators driven by the same John Howard's government policies. Let's have a look at the shortage of water driven by the same Murray-Darling Basin created by John Howard's government. Let's have a look at power prices that are now the highest in the world—and not the lowest as they used to be—thanks to John Howard's government. Let's have a look at the drought, and that has become a water crisis. Drought is natural. The crisis is man made. It's government made. Let's have a look at the banks that have been given an easy ride thanks to John Howard's government. Let's have a look at free trade agreements that are now giving New Zealand and Canada a free ride.

So much of this is underpinned by the climate scam, which most farmers know is rubbish, and which most Liberals know is rubbish but haven't got the guts to stand up about. The farmers get squeezed. I was on the banks of the Murray River just a week ago. Water was flowing past. A farmer walked up to me with a construction man, the owner of a construction business. He has not got a single customer, because the farmers are lacking confidence. He told me himself. He said: 'They can handle drought. They can't handle the current uncertainty that is due to government. They can understand nature. They can't understand what the government will do next.' This is urgent and the government won't address it!

Senator McDonald opposes regulation. So do I. But this has been created by regulation—uninformed, bureaucratic nightmares driven by the Liberal and National parties over many years. They need to either rescind all of those regulations that I have talked about or pass this bill. We hope that the National Party senators will support Senator Pauline Hanson's bill, because the people do support looking after the dairy farmers. I commend this bill to the Senate.