Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy President. That is a helpful reminder at this point in the debate. I will ensure that I direct my comments through you. I direct my comments, through you, to Senator Birmingham. Let us look at another area in recent times where this government simply sat on its hands—this time in conjunction with the Greens—to block an opportunity for job creation in South Australia. We have seen what has happened with Holden, we have seen what has happened with the component industries related to Holden and we know about some of the problems with Qantas in South Australia. What did we do a couple of weeks ago? We put up a motion in this chamber to allow mining exploration in the Defence area of Woomera. It was not going to cost the federal government a zack—they did not have to commit any money. But what happened? You did not support the motion, which that could have created some jobs into the future—