Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

Here here—that's right, Senator Davey. But I don't know how Senator Ciccone is going to go out to those farmers anymore, when he will not even support an inquiry to ensure that those farmers are going to be appropriately compensated as their land values plummet and so does their ability to farm their land. I was just listening to Senator Davey talk about what's going to happen to farm values. Perhaps this was part of their hidden motivation when they put the super caps in, as they absolutely destroyed farmers and the fact that they will be able to use their farms as their superannuation. This is actually their way of helping, because if they diminish the values of those properties, they might not hit the $3 million threshold anymore, because they are no longer productive farmland!

I don't know how anyone sitting opposite in the government can turn up and talk to a farmer or a farming group and look them in the eye and say: 'We don't care. You don't matter, and we're going to do everything we can to barge over you.' We know that with the Greens it is like a triangle that we have when it comes to their values and their concerns. And I use the term 'values' in the loosest possible way when approaching and referring to the Greens. We know that the pinnacle of that triangle is renewable energy. It's all about solar panels and wind farms and, 'Let's get that renewable energy!' Sitting just underneath that are critical minerals, because we know: 'Coal bad, critical minerals good.' There are two different types of mining, because that feeds into their renewable energy obsession. You cannot ask a question of the Greens like: 'What happens when up one of those electric vehicles catches on fire? How do we even put the fire out? Do you know how dangerous a chemical battery fire is?' You just have to let it burn. It is very dangerous. But don't worry. That's okay because it's an EV; it's a renewable car. How much it is going to cost for everyday Australians to have to put chargers in their houses? Well, that doesn't matter, because cost-of-living pressures are not that applicable when we talk about renewable energy and EVs and all of their obsessions.

I wasn’t around in 1949, Senator Colbeck, but I remember, when the Greens used to be about 'save the whales'. Remember when they used to have the stickers that were on everyone's cars? Save the whales? Bugger the whales! I've got a wind farm! I've got an offshore wind farm that's going to upset their migration routes and completely decimate whale populations. But that's okay, because it's a wind farm!

They do! Wind farm operators donate much more than whales! And there are the koalas. Senator Hanson-Young comes in here regularly to talk about the plight of koalas and how tragic it is for koalas, and she very emotionally explains to us that they are at risk and we need to do more to protect the koalas—except if we want to build solar panels over their habitat or except if we want to put powerlines right through a koala habitat. Then it's bugger the koalas! Again, potentially, it's because solar panel operators contribute more than the koalas do when it comes to political donations.

In the koala suit with the bucket! I do long for the days of Senator Patrick, when you knew there would be an outfit coming up!

It is absolutely astounding, but the thing is that this isn't an amendment to a piece of legislation. This isn't saying, 'No, no, no, we're not going to support this rewiring the grid.' Which, quite frankly, will more than likely end up one of the most expensive white elephants this country has ever seen—but the Labour Party will probably compete for those titles; they like a bantamweight fight over how much money they can waste, because it's just Australian taxpayers. But it's not even about that.

This is about Australians who pay taxes, who vote, who are actually covered by the Constitution at the moment. All of us are equally covered by the Constitution. There is not a carve-out that says all Australians are covered by this document except for farmers and fishers. The irony of Indigenous Australians currently being told that they need their own voice in the Constitution is that they are covered by this. Their voices don't count.

I know, sitting on this side with my female colleagues, that we're the wrong kind of women. We know that when left-wing women all rally around to protect women, it is 'all women', 'me too' and go, go, go but it is not conservative women; they are the wrong kinds of women. I actually have the T-shirt, thanks to Caroline Di Russo. We know we are the wrong kinds of women but there are the wrong kinds of Indigenous voices. I mean, we heard Senator Liddle ask questions today, with the denigration, the condescension, the paternalisation and the unbelievable commentary coming from those opposite because Senator Liddle is the wrong kind of Indigenous voice. Senator Nampijinpa Price is the wrong kind of Indigenous voice. We know Warren Mundine is the wrong kind of Indigenous voice. Apparently, now, all those Indigenous voices out in rural and regional Australia are the wrong kinds of voices too. If we start to look at how this is all mapping out—honestly, bring on the asteroid—it is seriously turning into crazy town here, because we have WA putting in all these heritage laws that farmers are protesting against.

Senator Wong's answer was just insane. I mean, look, I feel for Senator Wong. I'm not sure if she's ever been to a farm, so I can understand it is probably difficult for her to speak with any real authority in this area. But we have farmers having mass rallies and meetings because they are being charged. It is a rort. It is an absolute scam, these businesses now charging to come and decide what is heritage and what is Indigenous culture on the farmer's land. In fact, it is not even farmers. This is the best part: it is suburban blocks. You can't even put the new camellia in because you might have to dig a little bit too deep. You have to pay $3,000 to the local Indigenous to group to say, 'It is alright; the camellia can go in.' It is just lunacy.

We have from those opposite that we have to protect all this Indigenous heritage. We won't hear from the Labor Party that the government will not rule out that they will not roll these laws out across the country. If the Voice gets up—we know it is voice, treaty, truth telling—guess what else it will be? It will be cultural heritage protections for every inch of this country so that another cottage industry can set up. But it is not for the Indigenous Australians based out in the regions. The government are about to just pound their land through with all of these absolute ridiculous powerlines, with no sensitivity about whether they are going to impact any culturally sensitive areas—nothing. They probably won't even look at it.

We now know we have the wrong kind of women in this place and we have the wrong kinds of Indigenous voices. Those Indigenous voices out in rural and regional Australia might actually be those very sensible Indigenous people who are saying this Voice thing is absolutely ridiculous, that it will do nothing to protect them. Not only is it going to divide this nation—it is dividing this nation; it has divided this nation and will continue to do so—but what it is actually saying to Indigenous Australians is we're going to divide you into Indigenous Australians in the inner city that live in the Teal seats and the Greens seats and those in the regions. We are going to divide it up. For the Indigenous voices in the city, you're all kosher; you're all good. We're happy to hear from you. You just tell us how great we all are and we will help boost you with another cottage industry to keep that cash flowing. But if you are a rural or regional Indigenous Australian, not on your life, my friends; you guys just suck it up. We don't mind if we damage your cultural sites. We don't care because, guess what, we have a power line that has to be built, because solar and wind can't connect to the current grid. Let's remember, this is not the only grid; this is grid No. 2. So a lot of these farms already face this situation.

I'm just going to mention the word—nuclear. Honestly, I am going to be popping the popcorn to watch the Labor Party convention when this all comes up. I will be very, very interested to see where those people sit when the votes come through because I think the left delegation may have some different views than Senator Green's question today in question time. I will be very interested to see where everyone is sitting at the conference or convention—whatever the Labor Party call it—on the weekend. We won't be allowed to talk about nuclear, but do you know the thing about nuclear?

For lack of a better analogy, it actually plugs into our current grid. Let's look at it this way: you have a nuclear power plant, and you just plug it in like you plug in the vacuum cleaner—if you vacuum—or the iron. I'm not sure I'm big on that either, Senator Cadell, but I hear it can be done. I hear there is a thing called plugging in an iron! This is what we can do with nuclear energy, we can plug it in to the current grid. We do not need to destroy farmland and we do not need to destroy fishers. We do not need to disrespect rural and regional and Indigenous Australians to make the lefties in the city, with their pyramid of concerns that has renewable energy is at the top, feel good about themselves.

It is an absolute disgrace that you will not support just an inquiry so that those farmers, who pay a lot of taxes and provide our food, can come and talk to us. They provide our food, so I hope none of you are going home tonight and thinking about having a steak or going down to Portia's and having a bit of fried rice, because you won't be getting any more rice out of the Riverina. I hope you are not going out to dinner and eating any of the food or drinking that wine that our farmers produce, because you are turning your back on them. You won't allow them to come in here and explain what is happening on their land, to their families and to their business.

Like Senator Brockman I look forward to being here on transmission Tuesday. We've coined the term, and we'll be back here every Tuesday—transmission Tuesday it is. We could get T-shirts made, maybe get a drinks card, transmission Tuesday is on. RSVP optional, just come and have a crack, because these guys are unbelievable—unbelievable. But we won't see Labor and the Greens and Senator Pocock. I can remember him chaining himself to machinery to stop trees being cut down. Trees are now irrelevant because at the pinnacle we have wind farms and solar panels, which trump all. Maybe some will see the light. We can hope Senator Ciccone—but I'm not sure if there is anyone in that side other than Senator Ciccone who visit the farms—can speak some sense to his Labor colleagues and say: 'Hey, guys, it's an inquiry. Let the farmers have their say. Let the fishers have their say.' Then perhaps those who are most vocal in supporting the Indigenous Voice will see sense.

Perhaps the Prime Minister will see sense. He seems to be leading the charge on the Voice. And I'd like to put on record that, if it fails, welcome, Mr Albanese, that would be your mistake. The buck stops with you. But perhaps Mr Albanese, who's such a big proponent of the Voice and so keen to give Indigenous Australians a voice, might point out to his team here in the Senate that this is an inquiry to give Indigenous Australians a voice on which significant cultural sites might be damaged. Those Indigenous Australians deserve a voice, but I fear that we may be hoping for too much because, as I said at the beginning—and I will say it again as I finish up—if they didn't have double standards, they wouldn't have any standards at all.