Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member who just addressed the House said, 'We need a new government.' Well, there'll be an election. There'll be an opportunity for the people of Australia to deliver their verdict. I wouldn't hold my breath, Member for Eden-Monaro.

I'd hasten to suggest I've spent more time in sawmills in my lifetime than the member opposite has in her lifetime, so I'm not going to allow her to lecture me or this place about forest industries. You know what the issue is in forest industries in my electorate right now? Fatigue. We're having to manage workers for fatigue. They are busting out so much timber, because of this government's HomeBuilder program, they are suffering from fatigue. They can work 28 days in a month but they can't go past that, because the mill owners are worried about fatigue. But I digress. I shouldn't be triggered by the member opposite, but I think I just have been.

The most seminal, most important speech that the Leader of the Opposition is given the privilege of delivering every year, I think we all know, is the budget in reply. It is 30 minutes where the whole nation pauses to listen to their plan. Well, that's the plan, anyway. The whole nation pauses and we sit here diligently listening, waiting to hear the plan. The Leader of the Opposition marched in on that Thursday evening and gave a 30-minute speech. Those opposite march in today and say how they are so committed to regional Australia, that agriculture is their thing and that the mouse plague is what they are focused on. But, if we go back to that seminal speech, the budget-in-reply speech, you would think that the Leader of the Opposition would have uttered the words 'agriculture' dozens of times in that speech because it is so important to those opposite. If agriculture is not your go, I'm sure the Leader of the Opposition would have uttered the words 'regional Australia' dozens of times. Well, I'm here to tell you that he didn't utter any of those words dozens of times. You would think that five times each would be fair—it's a priority but it's not everything.

Those opposite need to understand that their leader marched into this place to deliver the most important speech of the year on behalf of those opposite, setting out the plan to win the next election—because, as the member for Eden Monaro said, 'We need a new government'—and, do you know how many times these words were uttered? 'Agriculture', zero. This is like playing The Price is Right. But I'm being unkind, aren't I? I mean, who would say 'agriculture'? If you're focused on regional Australia, you don't mention agriculture; you mention regional Australia. I'm now thinking of Steve, an American show: 'I say agriculture. Is it up there, Steve?' No, he did not mention it—not once. You've gotta be kidding!

The best bit of advice I got in politics was to be consistent. If it's not enough of a priority to mention it at all in the budget-in-reply speech, don't march into the chamber a month or so later and say, 'This is the single-most matter of public importance,' and pause everything we're doing in this place so that those opposite can point out the supposed failures in agriculture.

But I'm not actually concerned about those opposite; the reality is that we are marching towards $100 billion of agricultural output by 2030. Perhaps they should listen to the member for Hunter. He gets it. He's trying to deliver some common sense. He is actually laying down a pathway for those opposite to be competitive at the next election. But I tell you what; you are not going to be competitive by marching in here, with lines at the dispatch box, saying, 'It's now all about agriculture, it's all about regional communities and it's all about regional Australia.' The people of Australia aren't muppets. They know that, when the Leader of the Opposition stood here making his budget-in-reply speech, he didn't even mention agriculture—not once. For that matter, he didn't even mention forestry or regional Australia. Come on; be consistent, because you're not doing yourselves any favours with the people of Australia.

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