Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Flynn for his interest in re-refining oil. We just heard a very wide-ranging speech from the member for Flynn. In his true style he talked about the bills before us. He also talked about racing. I know his galloper Territory is running in Sydney this weekend. May it well win. Certainly oil used to be used to smooth down racetracks. I know the member for Flynn has more than a passing interest in racing. He certainly has more than a passing interest in his electorate of Flynn and the progress thereof.

I very much welcomed joining him at Yarwun on 12 March this year where, indeed, the Wagga Wagga based company Southern Oil expanded into the city of Gladstone. That came about as a result of some concerted lobbying by both the member for Flynn and me to see this fantastic Riverina company expand. It does, as the member for Flynn pointed out, re-refine oil. A good friend of both the member for Flynn, Ken O'Dowd, and me is Tim Rose, the Southern Oil Managing Director, who has expanded its operations and called it Northern Oil Refinery. They are doing a great job. The Northern Oil Refinery opened, as I said, on 12 March. The Queensland Minister for Environment and Heritage protection, Andrew Powell, joined the federal Minister for Industry, Ian McFarlane, the member for Groom, as well as the member for Flynn and me at the opening. What a novelty. We had an LNP minister for the environment and a Commonwealth minister for industry coming together to celebrate, to commemorate, to open an industry. That would not have happened under Labor, would it, member for Flynn?

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