Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. The one thing that the Morrison-Joyce government will do is to ensure that the resources which are the wealth of Australia are able to be prosecuted to ensure that all Australians benefit from the wealth that sits under our ground. And we will do so in a responsible way—a way that's responsible when it comes to our emissions targets and a way that's responsible when it comes to making sure that we have reliable and affordable power. That's because we're not going to make the Australian public or Australian businesses pay for the future that we know we can achieve through our technology led recovery.

I always wonder, when we get questions from the Greens, what they hate about regional Australia? What do they hate about jobs? What do they hate about businesses? This government has made an absolute commitment towards net zero by 2050, but we're going to do it in a way that is responsible, a way that doesn't tax Australians, Australian families, Australian households and Australian businesses. We are absolutely committed to that. We are technology and source agnostic; we just believe that technology is the answer and not taxes.

I really don't understand why you are so against rural and regional Australia being able to benefit from the opportunity of jobs and the development of businesses, or why you are denying the Australian public the opportunity to realise the wealth that exists under our ground. As you may not realise, in rural and regional Australia, we have two great industries: we have our resources sector and we have our agricultural sector. These two sectors have been the backbone of the Australian economy for a very long time. They are two of the most environmentally responsible industries, and we on this side of the chamber will back them in for the benefit of all Australians.