Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

In my experience, usually when you're in a hole you stop digging. I have made it clear now through Twitter, through ABC Capricornia, through other media outlets and through answering a question in the Senate chamber that touching the diesel fuel rebate is not on this government's agenda. We are not considering it. We are not working on it. That applies to farmers, to fishers, to foresters and to anyone else who takes advantage of this. So that is not on our agenda, and, again, this has been a matter of public record for three or four days. I'm a little concerned that Senator McKenzie and her team aren't keeping up to date with what announcements and commitments the government has made and, instead, choose to perpetuate these scare campaigns day after day.

I'll tell you one other thing about fishers and farmers. They have welcomed the cooperative approach from the Albanese government in dealing with them. I have lost count of the number of farm groups, fisher groups and other groups who have made the point that they welcome a government that's actually collaborating with them, listening to them and not lecturing them. (Time expired)