Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure that I rise to support the motion from Senator Duniam and to place on the record some genuine facts in relation to not only the situation that exists in Macquarie Harbour but also some of the things that have been said in this chamber today. The fact that the Labor Party stands up and tries to dismiss this important motion is a dismissal of the industry and the workers, quite frankly. It's disgraceful that the Labor Party stand here and try and portray this as something less than important. We expect the Greens to get up and do as they've just done on two occasions during this debate and just say, 'No, just close the industry down.' It's what they do. They do that for other primary industries and resource based industries as well—just say no. That's the mantra. It's simple, but it doesn't provide solutions.

Let's be realistic about why we are here. We are here in this situation because Minister Plibersek made a decision based on some representations that were made to her under the act. She was required to make a decision; she wasn't required to undertake a review, as has been put to the chamber. She was required to make a decision, and she made the wrong one. The first thing that Minister Plibersek should have done in this process was to reject out of hand any evidence that came from the Environmental Defenders Office. We've seen in the Magistrates Court the description of the operations of the Environmental Defenders Office, which Labor fund, as lacking integrity. So the first thing that could have been done was to dismiss out of hand anything that comes from an organisation that submits information to a court case that lacks integrity, as found by the court. That's what should have happened. The minister could have decided to uphold the decision that former minister Tony Burke made in 2012 in relation to salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour. That's what Minister Plibersek could have done and should have done—she should have made that decision.