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

It has been 15 months and there have been two budgets since the Albanese government came to power. As I get around my home state of Tasmania, there is one thing Tasmanians have been asking this crew to get on with, and that is their job, not to blame and deflect and say, 'What a mess we've inherited.' They voted this crew in to get on with the job, to deal with the issues that Tasmanians are dealing with.

I come to the electorate of Lyons, which is occupied by the Labor member Mr Brian Mitchell in the other place. In the electorate of Lyons on the east coast of Tasmania, six out of every 10 jobs are reliant on the tourism sector. What have the Labor government done to support that sector since they came to power? When it comes to finding workers to fill the jobs on the east coast, it appears they've done diddly squat. I'm not sure how you spell that, but good luck!

The problem is we've got a large portion of the coast crying out for workers and the Labor government, in their wisdom, have decided: 'We're going to have a review. We're going to talk about this and think about it and do nothing since we've come to power. Blame it on the last mob.' The electorate which contains the postcode 7190, which covers Swansea township, doesn't have access to the same arrangement when it comes to working holiday maker visas. In August last year, this government commenced an interdepartmental review which was led by the Department of Home Affairs. That was a year ago. A year ago, they commenced a review. Then the minister, Mr Giles, said he will 'shortly consider the recommendations'. This is in a letter to a constituent dated 4 April. We're now in August, a further four months on. Nothing has happened. Two budgets, 15 months and they are not doing a thing to help the businesses in the communities up and down the east coast in the electorate of Lyons. Shame on Mr Mitchell and shame on Tasmanian Labor senators.