Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It seems to be my lot in life to tend to follow the member for Dobell with my speeches in this place, but it is quite appropriate. The member for Dobell typifies the absolute fantasy and fallacy that surrounds the debate we are having at the moment. I would like the member for Dobell and others opposite to explain to the people who are having troubles with storms how these storms will stop. How will the temperature of the earth decrease by expecting pensioners to pay more for their power? After all the discussion that we have had in the last couple of years, but more particularly in the last few days since the coalition of Labor, the Greens and the fringe dwellers of parliament got themselves together under the mantle and great leadership of Bob Brown, we are going to once again discuss issues about cooling the globe. I want to know how making people pay extra for things will change the temperature of the globe. We have used woosie words about being prepared. The member for Dobell spoke in a sanctimonious and self-righteous manner, and he is a member who represents a completely concreted and swamp-filled area.

If you look geographically you will see that the Greens tend to support and congregate in concreted, altered environments and the methods of amelioration that they propose are generally in areas where they do not live. They are expecting pensioners in my electorate—where there is no public transport, where it is 45 degrees in summer and where it freezes in the winter—to go without electricity. If you are a fixed income earner, you have no choice but to turn off the switch. We hear Bob Brown talk about the big polluters. News flash: we are the polluters. When you have an aluminium can of soft drink, you have created the pollution. Someone else has done the work, but that is yours. Electricity generators are there because of your use. If you are on a fixed income or you have a small business, you need to turn that off.

I want members opposite to explain to small business owners—corner stores, convenience stores, small independent supermarkets, butchers and all those sorts of people in their electorates—why they have to pay more for their electricity to improve the weather that we live under. I have not heard anyone explain that. We are going down the path of that great fable The Emperor’s New Clothes and it is about time that we started to show a bit of wisdom and call this what it is.