Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I also have some concerns with this bill. I have been listening to the debate very carefully and I thank particularly Senator Colbeck for his leadership on this issue. I hasten to say twice in two days that there is one aspect of the debate on which I agree with the Greens—that is, what a fool our Prime Minister made of herself when she went to New Zealand and there made a major announcement on apples which involved the biosecurity of our country. To do that in New Zealand just shows how poorly served we are by our current Prime Minister. I continue to be amazed as to why the Greens, with all their criticisms of Ms Gillard as occurred in today's debate, continue to support her in the Lodge. I suppose the answer is the evidence this week when, by a guillotine arrangement supported by the Greens, this parliament adopted the carbon tax legislation, even though just 12 months ago, as Australians listening to the debate will recall, Ms Gillard promised the Australian public, very solemnly, very sincerely, that there would be no carbon tax under a government she led—yet this week that carbon tax was introduced into Australia.

How can anyone ever have any confidence in anything Ms Gillard says in the future? That dishonest approach to political campaigning—promising there would be no carbon tax because she knew at the time, had she been honest, that Australians would not have voted for her—will never be forgotten by Australians. Similarly, apple growers in Australia will never forget the Australian Prime Minister going to the New Zealand parliament and making an announcement about importation of New Zealand apples to Australia with what many people believe are not the right biosecurity arrangements.    I am going to have to curtail my speech because again the Greens and Labor Party have put a time management arrangement on all the bills before us.