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 discuss character—specifically, the character of members of parliament. Australia has people that are of fine quality, resources in abundance, opportunity and potential. We're close to a huge and growing market, yet financially many people are going backwards. The Australian median wage is the wage at the halfway point. Half the people are above that wage; half the people are below that wage. It's a great way to compare how everyday Australians are faring. Median in this way is more representative than average. The figures I'm about to present are all after inflation, which for the last 15 years was 40 per cent. Over the 15 years to 2017-18, the median wage fell 2.4 per cent. We have officially gone backwards, but it gets worse. Everyday Australian families trying to live on an income that is going backwards are paying more to buy their first home. In the last 15 years, in Brisbane home prices went up 100 per cent and in Sydney by 150 per cent, yet median income is $48,000 and falling. How the hell do Australians buy a home on $48,000 per year?

For people who do manage to buy a home, it will cost slightly more than 100 per cent more for electricity now. Kids' education expenses over the last 15 years have gone up 100 per cent. State government fines have increased enormously. Speed cameras, for example, are now a revenue-raising device. It's a tax; government fines are taxes. So that's why people are feeling uneasy, scared, hopeless and lost. People do not feel heard. People are needing leadership, support and hope. They need solid economic management. Remember: early in our nationhood, we led the world in per-capita income. For per-capita income, we were No. 1. Now we're sliding out of the top 10.

Why is Australia falling? It is because governance is failing the people. Consider the events of the last five days. I tried to present data this morning and the government denied me the right to present that data in a simple motion presenting the facts that the government's agency, the Australian Institute of Criminology, developed. Taxpayers funded that data, but taxpayers can't hear the data. Does that mean we should sack all public servants because we're paying them to do nothing because government wants to rely not on data but on opinions? No, we shouldn't sack public servants, but we should have governance in this place that requires policies and decisions to be based on data.

The Left—and I consider many of the Liberal-Nationals to be Left—use unfounded opinions, lies, hate, emotions and fear to control. The Greens, for example, in the 285 days since I first challenged them, have never provided any evidence for their core policy of climate change. They've never fronted me for the debate that I challenged them to 285 days ago. I challenged Senator Waters 10 months ago. She jumped to her feet and said that she would not debate me, and she still won't. Ian Macdonald stood just over there in 2016, looked across and said that he didn't always agree with me but that at least I had the courage to start the debate on climate science. But no-one wants to debate, because they don't have the data and they know that I do.

The Liberal-Labor-Nationals are chasing the Greens agenda, which is pushing the United Nations Agenda 2030. If you don't believe me, have a look at their policies: by 2030, to be compliant with the UN's agenda. The policies of the main parties are the same in substance, differing slightly in degree—Liberal-Nats-Labor. The UN Kyoto Protocol is the basis for stealing farmers' property rights, which both sides of politics do. The UN Rio Declaration, the Ramsar sites, international agreements and the Water Act are the result of both sides of politics. The UN Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement—climate lies and false alarms—are the basis for energy policy on both sides of politics. The Renewable Energy Target and the National Electricity Market, which is really a racket, led to inflated retail margins and networks being goldplated. Privatisation is really a tax in Queensland under the Labor government. It's both sides of politics.

We supposedly have deregulation, and what we have now is a power-sharing plan for saving the Portland smelter, in which the various privately owned privatised entities supplying power are getting together to save Portland. And who will control it? Victorian and federal regulators. We've seen as the result the destruction of manufacturing and agriculture.

Taxation policies are hideous. Senator Hanson and I have done those many times; we have exposed them. Economic management is now based on budget cycles—annual cycles to pay for bribes. We've seen immigration driving up house prices, driving wages down and driving taxes up. We've seen regulations—red tape, green tape and blue UN tape. Richard Court, who became Liberal Premier of WA in 1993, has outlined, in his book Rebuilding the Federation, the policies and the processes by which the UN has usurped our governance.

But let's dig deeper. Barnaby Joyce was the most colourful and effective climate sceptic in this country, and certainly in this parliament. Then, when he sniffed cabinet, he suddenly became an alarmist and allowed Malcolm Turnbull to shower $400 million for wind farms on his New England electorate. Matt Canavan was his chief of staff when Barnaby Joyce was in the Senate. He became his replacement, and then, when he sniffed cabinet power, he became an alarmist as well.

In an article going around in the newspapers recently, the Nationals have been talking about the grandfathers of their party—wonderful people: Fadden, Sinclair and McEwen. The last person mentioned in that article was John Anderson, and he left in 2007 after signing, with John Howard and Rob Borbidge, the policies that stole farmers' property rights in New South Wales and Queensland.

On energy policies, the Liberal-Nationals and the Labor Party are implementing the same policies as Trent Zimmerman in the lower house here—woke Liberal-Nationals. Property rights are basically Greens policy. John Howard sold them—no, he didn't sell them, he stole them. His government stole them. The Howard-Turnbull Water Act 2007 destroyed water policy in this country. We went from being the best to being the worst. That's not my view; that's an international expert's view. Look at the specifics: the dairy bill, and Defence land being stolen until Senator Hanson and I jumped in. On the Bradfield Scheme, today we heard the reality. We heard Senator Duniam say that Deb Frecklington was in favour of elements of the Bradfield Scheme.

Senator Hanson cares; she gets the data. Senator Hanson cares; she speaks out. Senator Hanson cares; she steps up.

Thomas Jefferson said you can have farms without cities but you cannot have cities without farms. That is still correct. That's why One Nation focuses on property rights. We want restoration of compensation. We focus on water—getting the Murray Darling Basin Authority under control—and eliminating, getting rid of, the Water Act 2007. On the Bradfield Scheme: we want to tie water back to the land. Energy: competitive federalism will deliver us cheap power. We need to get back to compliance with our Constitution. Coal-fired power, hydro power; on taxation, tax multinationals and reform the tax system. On small business: protect small business. Reduce immigration to net zero. And free up freedom of speech.

The real issue in this country is control versus freedom. This parliament is about controlling people. One Nation pushes to restore freedom. The bigger picture: our keys are cost of living, which is affecting the standard of living; quality of living, which is about security; and future living, which is about infrastructure. We need to do all three of these things, but we also need strong governance and the restoration of our sovereignty. We need truth and to have governments serving the people, not stealing from the people. We need to restore personal rights and freedoms. One Nation believes that government's duty is to provide the business environment for investment that brings employment that is favourable to the people of this country instead of serving political careers. That requires serving the people, that requires courage and truth, and that requires strength of character.

Senate adjourned at 22 : 17