House debates Statements by Members

Leader of The Nationals

Monday, 26 February 2018 House of Representatives

Stephen Jones

Stephen Jones Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government

1:54 pm

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the member for Riverina as the new Leader of the National Party and I want to reflect on the leaders who've come before him. There was the great Jack McEwen. He was a cattle farmer. There was Doug Anthony. He was a dairy farmer. There was Tim Fischer. He was also a farmer. Was the member for Riverina a farmer? No. In fact, the only muster that the new Deputy Prime Minister has ever done was to round up the numbers against the member for New England. Giving the member for Maranoa a poke with a cattle prod does not count. The new Deputy Prime Minister is no Doug Anthony and he's no 'Black Jack' McEwen. He is a fake farmer. He's probably still got the price tag on his Akubra, and he's been out there in the ministerial courtyard scuffing up the RM Williams with a bit of sandpaper. I hear there's an order in for a new bull bar for a Com car. The truth is this: he voted against Medicare, he voted against schools in country Australia, he voted against a decent broadband network and he voted against regional universities. You can't fake authority and you can't fake authenticity. It's a sad day for regional Australia when the new Nationals dream team is a fake farmer and a senator from Elwood. From leather to pleather, from wheat belt to wheatgrass smoothies, this is the new National Party dream team—a dysfunctional and out-of-touch mob. (Time expired)