Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I listened to everyone else in silence—to allow other senators, including those opposite, to make a contribution on this bill, and it's those opposite who chose to chew up the first half an hour without actually dealing with the bill.

If I can, I will say that this bill is designed specifically to alleviate pressure on households, to stand up for jobs, to stand up for industry and to stand up for manufacturing. There's been a very select use of industry comments in the contributions from those opposite, and I could take the full 15 minutes to read out the quotes and examples from businesses, small and large, in this country who are going to the wall because of the gas prices and energy prices—the lost or threatened jobs and the businesses that have lasted for 50 years and are now being hammered. Those opposite want to ignore all that—'No, no problem with that at all—absolutely no problem with the price of gas at the moment and what we've seen over the last six months.'