Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Sterle. The programs for rural and regional Australia that were a highlight and a high mark of the previous government were ignored by the Labor government, were cancelled by the Labor government, and the moneys channelled into inner-city seats where most Labor members represent. And any time Senator Sterle wants to have a debate on that, he should let me know, because he knows he will be beaten in that debate as he is in most other debates.