Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

I remind members that I have moved a second reading amendment in my name which makes this a wide-ranging debate. Before I was interrupted by the adjournment debate last night, I was solemnly reflecting on the very, very poor performance of this current agriculture minister over the course of the now last four years and the extent to which the boondoggle that is the Regional Investment Corporation reflects his whole approach to this portfolio. In other words, it is a total focus on spin and the development of false hope among farming communities and rural communities generally by constantly talking about projects which will never manifest themselves—dams being the most glaring example—and by trying to lead people to believe that if you put a government agency in a town—an initiative which of course can do no harm and, indeed, can do some marginal good—that will somehow transform the fortunes of that local community. When you think about it, it's a bit like saying, 'We're going to increase the Centrelink staffing levels in your town by 20 per cent and that will lead to an economic recovery.'

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