Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is not my first speech, Madam Deputy President, but, before I go any further, I would like to congratulate you on your appointment—and best wishes in service to the Senate.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia, I would like to discuss some of the lessons I learnt in my break from the Senate, because it's different the way I see the state and the country after having been in here. I'm much more attuned to listening to what people are saying and much more observant, and I can pick up more of the cues now. The people are not happy with this parliament—not at all happy. It is not just the matter of the rabble that is in question time, not only in the House but especially in the Senate—they expect better from the Senate—but also the putting down of people instead of debate, the use of ad hominem attacks, the smears, the innuendos and anything but data and facts. People are very, very disappointed with the way this Senate and the House of Representatives operate.

Perhaps that's why in the House of Representatives One Nation's vote in the last election, despite many setbacks, increased 150 per cent. That's one of the highest votes of any party. Centre Alliance and the Labor Party fell considerably. The Liberals' vote, despite a success—and we congratulate them on that success—dropped one per cent. As I can summarise what the people were thinking, they said the Liberals do not deserve to govern, but Australia does not deserve Bill Shorten. The Liberals didn't win; the Labor Party lost because of their leader. That's what people were scared of—a Bill Shorten government—make no mistake about that—particularly in my home state of Queensland. In the state where I come from, our Senate vote increased by 12 per cent. Across Australia, our Senate vote increased, with the same number of candidates as previously, by 33 per cent. In all states bar one, we were seventh. So that's a remarkable rise, despite the deliberate and concerted attempts to kill One Nation.

Let me give you an example of why people are fed up with the Liberal-Labor duopoly that has existed for the last 30 years. Kilcoy farmers came to me—particularly a man called Russell Long—on behalf of other farmers who dealt with me. They're opposing the installation of a solar power generation complex near Kilcoy. A wonderfully rich, productive valley and lower hillside would be taken up by a 10-kilometre long solar industrial complex. It's not a farm—that's a lovely word. This is a solar industrial complex that will kill this area. Listen to the consequences of that decision. It's a flood-prone valley, a rich valley that can be cropped close to the creek. Not only are they taking away prime agricultural land; they are putting in its place cadmium and lead contaminants that go into the water supply of Neurum Creek, then into the Brisbane River, which flows into Lake Wivenhoe, which gives us our water supply for Brisbane, Ipswich, Gold Coast, Beenleigh and, I'm told, possibly Toowoomba—a significant chunk of Queensland's population liable to toxic contamination.

There are further consequences. The Chinese are using our coal—our metallurgical coal, the best in the world, and our thermal coal, one of the best in the world—to generate steel for wind turbines which they export to us, and we can't compete because our coal prices end up being so high due to the subsidies for solar and wind generators. Then, further, we subsidise the Chinese to install those monstrosities in Australia, and that drives us further out the back door industrially, and we lose our industries to China. I'm not complaining about the Chinese—they're not doing anything dishonest; I'm complaining about the Liberal and Labor governments in the state and in this country that enable that to happen.

In 1942, when the Japanese bombed Darwin Harbour, Prime Minister John Curtin did not send them a cheque to help them to pay for their bombs, but that is what this government and this country is doing to subsidise the Chinese bombing this country. One Nation will bring forward positive policies to prevent this kind of nonsense. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Roberts, thank you for your congratulations, and I remind you to refer to those in the other place by their correct titles.