Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Evans interjects again and says, ‘No, you haven’t.’ Can I tell you something, Senator Evans? Those people in government—like the state Labor government in Victoria, the state Labor government in New South Wales and the state government in Queensland—have been cooperating with us and have been praising the cooperation of the Australian government. You see, we as a Liberal-National government are able to cooperate with state Labor governments in the national interest and not play cheap politics, unlike those on the other side. I suggest to the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, who, if he is so interested in the topic, should have asked the question himself and not left it to the hapless Senator O’Brien: if he were genuinely interested, he would be talking to the relevant ministers in the state Labor governments, who are fully supportive of the approach that we are taking and supportive of our $110 million package to boot.