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

Mr Acting Deputy President, I know why they are bleating: it is because they cannot stand the truth. They cannot stand the truth. We had Mrs Mirabella, the shadow industry minister, at the Press Club yesterday saying how the coalition are going to be a friend to manufacturing workers. I know a bit about the coalition government and manufacturing. I was very lucky and very proud to the leader of the Manufacturing Workers Union during the period of the Howard government. And do you know what the Howard government did for manufacturing? They did nothing. They simply cut away support for the industry. If you knew anything about economics, you would understand that it is easy to make an investment in mining—

Senator Cormann interjecting—