Andrew Robb (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade and Investment) Share this | Hansard source

Even if it was 5,000 jobs, it is serious. Here is the Labor Party, not worried about jobs. They are disputing the fact that this creates any jobs. Are you real? This is serious business. This is not to be thrown away. These are people's lives that are being junked on the altar of paying up to the Greens. That is what you have done for years, and you have trashed the economy as a consequence.

India has been keen to conclude a bilateral comprehensive economic cooperation agreement with Australia because, among other things, India seeks reliable access to the food and mineral resources its economy needs to grow, and Australia, as a stable and secure country, offers the potential to be a long-term partner in that growth. Endless delays to India's biggest investment project in Australia will and are being noted by Indian businesses and the government and may well affect India's appetite to finalise this agreement this year. This is a major agreement. We cannot put all our eggs in a North Asian basket. We have to develop a much stronger relationship with India. The opportunities are there, for all sorts of reasons. India is 25 or 20 years behind China. It is going to be the next China, and we as a country need to develop these relationships.

This lawfare that is being engaged in by a bunch of activist Greens members is seriously undermining the prospects for concluding this agreement in a satisfactory manner. Normalising section 487 of the EPBC Act in line with the standing provisions of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act will ensure that aggrieved persons retain the right to make an application for judicial review. At the same time, it will prevent activist groups from using the EPBC Act to disrupt nationally important economic projects. This strikes the right balance—on both sides of the parliament, I suggest, over the years. For that reason, I support the amendment and I urge those opposite to do the same.

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