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

DUNIAM (—) (): It's the last week of parliament. As you would expect, a government desperate to get its agenda through is seeking to do whatever it can to achieve its legislative aims. I want to talk about forestry. I get a sense based on what I've read today that there's a dirty deal in the offing between the Labor Party and the Greens over forestry, would you believe—this party that frames itself up as the friend of the worker, though certainly not the salmon worker and, it appears now, not the forestry worker either. After two-and-a-half years of failed agenda on environmental law reform, where this government promised we'd have new laws in the parliament to debate to be able to protect the environment, protect the economy and create jobs, we've got nothing, diddly squat. The fact is that this government, desperate to get a win before this parliamentary term ends, will do whatever it takes.

So what is the cost? What is the price that's going to be paid to get this deal across the line with the Greens to support this ridiculous legislation to set up a new Green bureaucracy that won't save a single endangered species and certainly will do nothing for the economy? I suspect that it will be the jobs of hardworking, honest men and women in states like Tasmania and New South Wales, where Labor don't care about industries like native forestry. We will see the Labor Party return to form and get into bed with their natural bedfellows, the Australian Greens, to knock on the head this thriving, sustainable and science based industry—whatever it takes to get a win in this parliament, whatever it takes to make up for not having delivered what they promised the Australians at the last election and indeed promised this parliament we'd have before this Senate chamber before the end of last year. It's almost the end of 2024, and we have nothing. So this will be the price. There shouldn't be a single senator in this place that supports a dodgy deal like this, but I bet you there will be. (Time expired)