Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Wong, for your question. I've written a couple of pieces which outline my views on this matter, going back several months. I am not an MP who has come to this place ever denying the science of climate change. But nor am I a member of parliament who has ever signed up to policies that will decimate jobs in rural and regional Australia. Over the time I've been in this place, there have been a number of debates in this place, and my political party has stood up for rural and regional Australians and for jobs in our communities. We will continue to do that. I've made it very clear in my personal public commentary that I will not be signing up to any policy that is not right for rural and regional Australia—not just to get us through the next election, but to get us through the next three decades. It is very easy for those who don't live in the communities that we live in and represent the communities that we represent to take a different approach. It's very similar to Senator Canavan, who lives in a community that is based around coalmining. But, when you look at Anthony Albanese's perspective on coalmining—he lives nowhere near it: 'I don't think there's a place for new coal-fired power plants in Australia, full stop.'