Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying, the Australian Greens have this amazing capacity to try and tap into people's emotions and avoid fact and science to get a certain political outcome. That's what they're in the business of doing. The basis of what has happened here is so flawed that it is almost laughable, and we would be laughing except for the fact that 800 people are now without work and the state of New South Wales has less money to pay for schools and hospitals because of activists that want to undercut our society. If you're an investor looking at where you might park a billion dollars, would you want to go through this process only to be knocked on the head by spurious claims from activists who tap into emotions rather than deal with fact? You wouldn't. You'd go somewhere else, where there are worse environmental outcomes.

We're supposed to be global leaders. This is the thing—the Australian Greens love to push things over the horizon so we don't see it. We feel better about not mining here, but we're happy to have the life dug out of certain countries where they have no environmental regulations. This is the by-product of their 'shut it down, lock it up and oppose projects at all costs' approach to the world. They are not doing the right thing by our country in opposing this motion. It is important to have a look at these laws. Senator Cox herself has been asking where the new cultural heritage laws are. I'd love to know. An inquiry might tell us a bit more than we know already, which is nothing because the government have done, as far as I can tell, diddly squat. So I have no idea why we would not have a discussion about these things and enable everyone on every side of the debate to come and have their say. That's what democracy's all about.

To suggest that Senator Nampijinpa Price is on her own in these views—well, what about Roy Ah-See? He's a Wiradjuri elder, and he has some real problems with what's happened here. Maybe he's on the wrong side of the ledger too because he doesn't agree with the Australian Greens. What about the members of the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council? They have a problem with what's happened here. Their community—their people; their mob—have been denied economic empowerment by a group of people they don't agree with who frankly, if you look at what the minister has done, have had an immense impact on this community. So to suggest that Senator Nampijinpa Price is on her own is frankly wrong. It is important for us to be able to interrogate these laws at a state and federal level to understand why the government have not acted. In the interests of all Australians, it would be great to ensure that we get the laws right moving forward.

It was also interesting to note, of course, the defence of the EDO, an organisation which, frankly, I cannot believe the government continues to fund after the evisceration by the Federal Court judge Justice Charlesworth. This activist organisation is now setting up a specialist arm to go around looking for cultural heritage claims like this, as reported recently in the media, to try and stop them. This goes back to my point about the government sources' concern that section 10 is being weaponised. Why would we give them money, through the taxpayer, to enable them to do more?

I'd also love to know where the EDO gets most of its money from. I don't think it's local. I have real concerns that the EDO has been getting a lot of funding from overseas in recent years, and that would be great to see. Perhaps the EDO might table those documents for us given they are a recipient of taxpayers' money. To write off other's concerns as conspiracy is exactly what the left do. They do it all the time if you have a concern. All we are asking for is an inquiry. A bit of truth-telling would be helpful here. Let's see what's said, let's see the truth, let's see the facts and let's get these laws right; let's have an inquiry.