Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, I would say that you are an extremist, Senator Boswell. I am glad you woke up because I think you are part of the problem, not the solution. I think you are a huge problem. The National Party is a huge problem in this country. Senator McGauran, who jumped ship from the National Party to the Liberal Party, is in the chamber as well. He says this is rubbish. We have the National Party out there doing what is not in the interests of rural and regional communities in this country, and that is denying the reality of climate change in this nation and on this planet.

You are an extremist, Senator Boswell, on this issue. You are a climate change denier and sceptic. You are entitled to be all of those things, but I am not prepared to allow you to do that at the expense of my grandchildren and future generations. That means that I have to stand up here and argue the point that we need to take strong action on the basis of maintaining a decent future for generations to come. If you say that you are an extremist and you ask me to call you an extremist, I am there—I will do that because that is what you are. You are a denier and you will not accept the science. You are not doing the right thing by regional and rural communities and you are not doing the right thing by our future generations. Slogans and oppositionalism are not good enough on this issue. We are prepared to take action to ensure that the environment is preserved for future generations. (Time expired)