Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) | Hansard source

Well, Senator Rice! Again—the emotive arguments of the Greens! Seventy thousand Australians—proud Australians, most of them in rural and regional Australia—work in the forestry industry. You continue to come in here and behave as if it is not a sustainable industry, with its management based on the best science, where we actually put aside resource for public enjoyment, for our flora and fauna to thrive and for our biodiversity outcomes to be met—

Senator McKim interjecting—

And, indeed, Senator McKim, we put aside resources to sequester carbon. That whole system exists to manage that resource, and 70,000 Australians and their families rely on mum or dad being a logger, like my dad used to be, being a truck driver, working in the woodchip processing plant or what have you. You come in here and say they're somehow not allowed to do that because someone feels that they need to stop that happening. Senator Rice's justification for somebody committing illegal acts was that they feel that this is not fair, despite it being based in science and having exceptional environmental and economic outcomes for the broader community. You say that if somebody feels that they need to stop that action happening they somehow have the right to go onto private property to commit criminal acts. I can tell you, Senator Rice, very clearly that, under this bill, if someone is inciting another Australian to go on private property to harass, intimidate or trespass then they will be captured.