James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of answers to all questions that were asked by coalition senators.

I'd like to start with Labor's war on the family car and Labor's war on the ute. What we have in Australia is a real disconnect between the governing class, who are based here in Canberra, and those who live out in the real world. What Labor is proposing to do is to make it a lot harder for families when they want to buy a new car, because they have such a focus on EVs. My position as an LNP senator from Queensland is that I don't care what type of car you drive. That's up to you. You make that choice. Whether it's a hybrid, an EV or, if you're like me and you like diesel—that's good. But what the Labor Party do is make it even harder for families, who are suffering under Labor's cost-of-living crisis, if they want to buy a new car because of Labor's ideological focus on anything to do with EVs or renewables. Labor is disconnected from what's going on in the real world. They're the new establishment, the new elite. They're the governing class. They sit up at the front of the plane. They get in their big cars. They go overseas. They sit around their nice, polished wooden tables—they're all very important people. They have thousands of public servants—more of them are going to be appointed, by the way—working for them. They sort of forget what it's like.

This is the Labor Party who promised 97 times that they would cut power bills by $275. Yet power bills haven't gone down by $275, they haven't gone down by $10 and they haven't gone down by a dollar. Power bills have gone up an average of a thousand dollars, so poor Australians are dealing with this government who just want to tax them and make it harder to just get on with life.

This war on cars and this war on utes—I don't understand why the Labor Party don't get it. I tell you what, I have spent a fair bit of time on the road. On the weekend, I was in Senator Wong's home state. I was in Port Augusta and Whyalla. It's interesting: those who drive utes, the tradies, have shifted. Labor's traditional base, the tradies—guess what, Labor?—have shifted. They're getting in their utes and they're driving away from the Labor Party and they're driving towards the coalition, because we're on their side.

If you want to buy a ute, buy a ute. You should not be punished because of the Labor Party's obsession with EVs. When you do roadsides, which we do in the coalition, and you're out there early in the morning, the tradies are also the ones out there at 4.30 to five or 5.30 to six in the morning. Where do you get the toots from? You get the toots from the tradies who are going to their sites, going to do the work, because they're up early. They understand that we're on their side and the Labor Party has just left them behind.

But what was more disappointing about the answers that we got in question time today was the defence by the Labor Party of the Environmental Defenders Office. The minister concerned—I think it was you, Senator Wong, and I apologise if it wasn't—said there are allegations in relation to the EDO. Well, they're not allegations. This is actually what—and I've taken my glasses off so I can read it properly—the Federal Court judge said. They're not allegations; it's what the judge said. Justice Charlesworth said that the EDO's evidence was 'so lacking in integrity' that no weight could be placed on it. Justice Charlesworth went on to say that the EDO were involved in 'distorting and misrepresenting' evidence and that they manipulated and coached a number of traditional owners.

I don't know how the lawyers who were involved in this matter have not been struck off from the solicitors roll or the barristers roll, in their respective jurisdictions. This is appalling conduct from lawyers. These lawyers should be struck off, the taxpayers of Australia should stop funding the EDO and the Labor Party should stand up for what is right and withdraw the funding. We're going to do that. We're going to make sure that no money goes to the EDO.