Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and minister representing the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia. Will the Deputy Prime Minister outline to the House how the government is driving Australia's economic growth by supporting major mining projects, such as Adani's Carmichael coalmine? Is the Deputy Prime Minister aware of any threats to the jobs and economic development this project will deliver to the communities of Capricornia and across Australia?

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question. I know that she is intensely interested in making sure the Adani mine gets going, as all Central Queenslanders are, as the member for Flynn and the member for Dawson are and as the member for Herbert should be but of course he is not. The reason they should be interested in the Adani mine is the $34.5 billion that the coalmining sector brings into Australia and the 44,000 workers, predominantly blue-collar workers, who are employed in the mining industry—a group of people that once upon a time the Labor Party used to support. The Labor Party used to support labourers, but they have given up on that. I remind the member for Herbert that the unemployment level in Townsville, at 11.3 per cent, means that she should be a strong advocate for the Adani mine and she should be driving the Labor Party, that used to support labourers, to support the Adani mine, and in that quest to get the Adani mine going she should be supported by the member for Shortland. He should be supporting coal workers. The member for Hunter should be supporting coal workers. But they are not.

Mr Conroy interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Shortland!

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Labor Party have given up on labourers, in hot pursuit of vegan burgers up and down Glebe Point Road, they have given up on people at the Fitzroy Hotel at Depot Hill and they have given up on people at the Railway Hotel at Cessnock. The Labor Party have lost their soul. They will not let the member for Grayndler, who actually is responsible for building things, speak. He is in splendid isolation—he can't say boo. The man has lost his tongue; he is talking in sign language. What happened to the party that used to be the party of Ben Chifley—Ben Chifley, a railway worker? Where are the Ben Chifleys in the Labor Party these days? Where are the Clyde Camerons in the Labor Party these days? Where are the Mick Youngs in the Labor Party these days? Where are the people in the Labor Party who actually did labour, who actually did manual work? We hear a lot about the school teachers and a lot about the solicitors, and fair enough, but they have given up on labourers. Where are the people who should be standing up for people in the CFMEU? What about the people in the CFMEU? When are you going to start standing up for workers?

Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How is Riverview going? You are attacking workers.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Shortland will leave the chamber under 94(a).

The member for Shortland then left the chamber .

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When is the member for Calwell going to start standing up for workers? When is the member for Shortland going to stand up for workers? We are fighting for the Adani mine because we believe that men and women deserve a job—even if it is manual work, we believe that they deserve a job. We believe in the prosperity of Central Queensland. We are going to fight for these workers because we know that you are not. You do not have the ticker. The member for Maribyrnong does not have the ticker, as a former leader of the AWU, to stand up for workers—he has given up on them. He has left them; he has evolved. Policy is being delivered by the member for Sydney—and she is looking after the inner suburbs—but they have forgotten about those in Central Queensland. We will pick them back up.