John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

What I am saying is simply this: when we get the report of the expert group we will analyse it and provide a response. If the Leader of the Opposition wants me to rule things out, I am very happy to do so. I am going to rule out destroying jobs in the coal industry, I am going to rule out walking away from the workers of central Queensland, I am going to rule out walking away from the workers of the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, and I am going to rule out walking away from the workers of the Illawarra. Just as I ruled out walking away from the forestry workers of northern Tasmania in 2004, I can promise the coalminers of Australia that the coalition will remain their best friend.

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