John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Dear, oh dear! Is it any wonder Senator Wong sacked him? Fair dinkum! And to think the bloke took leave from this place to give Senator Wong a leg-up in the leadership! However, I go back to the real issue: coal. The Greens religion, which those opposite support totally, is: put the electricity prices up, drive our industries overseas, shut them down. I don't know why they don't like workers. I don't know why they've got such a set against workers. The dear old Labor Party! Do you remember: the Labor Party was started by the shearers under the Tree of Knowledge at Barcaldine in Queensland? Who are the shearers in the parliament now? There's Andrew Broad from the Nationals in the other chamber and John Williams from the National Party in this chamber. Those people opposite wouldn't know how to load a handpiece, let alone how to knock the wool off a sheep. You're not the workers party; you're the unions party. They are getting a free ride, and now you're turning your back to it. You'll be up here, supporting the Greens' motion today—supporting it all the way through—promoting the Greens religion, sending the country broke and sending the jobs overseas. That's what it's all about.

We know how they're joined at the ankles. We know that Labor and the Greens are sharing their preferences. I wonder if things will change when the leadership changes. I wonder if they'll change. When Senator Keneally is leading the opposition in government, I wonder how it'll look then. I reckon it'll probably look a fair bit better, although I don't know.