Anniversaries should be times of both celebration and reflection.
A 101-year anniversary is something else again – proof of resilience, of survival against the odds, and the ability to evolve through changing times.
Our party has an enormous amount to be proud of, and much of that has been discussed during this conference.
And yet this Federal Conference occurs at a time when our Parliament – the central democratic institution of our nation – has hit a pretty low ebb.
As someone who has been self-employed, employed a lot of people and have been in charge of divisions of companies, I’ve always described Parliament House as the strangest place I’ve ever worked in.
But that is not a reason for allowing things to remain the same.
We owe it to you, to our nation to do a lot better.
We cannot accept the unacceptable.
We have to work to a higher standard of personal responsibility than other places.

Mr PITT (Hinkler—Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia) (15:36): That was a very polite contribution from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, I have to say. I’ll go to his opening remarks about strolling in the grounds of the parliament. As you know, Mr Deputy Speaker O’Brien, I can tell you exactly where we’ve been strolling in recent weeks. It’s been in places like Cloncurry, the Cannington Mine, and Gladstone and Northern Oil. We’ve been to Humpty Doo and Darwin; we’ve been talking to the people of Townsville and right across the north. While I have the opportunity, I’ll give a shout-out to Humpty Doo Barramundi again. What a great Australian success story! It’s a small business that’s driving more jobs with support from the NAIF, which includes a second loan to put on more people, more Australians, in the north. I think that’s a wonderful story that we should all reflect on and be thankful for—that we still have those Australians out there having a crack, employing more people and continuing to grow.

Mr O’DOWD (Flynn): My question is to the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia. Will the minister update the House on the resilience of the resource sector and highlight how the Morrison government is assisting this important sector to position Australia for a strong start in 2021 and driving jobs in regional Australia?

Ms SHARKIE (Mayo): My question is the minister for water. The South Australian government has flagged a High Court challenge should the federal government not deliver the legislated 450 gigalitres of environmental water to South Australia by 2025. Minister, will the government deliver the 450 gigalitres, and, if so, please detail how?

Mr ENTSCH (Leichhardt): My question is to the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison-McCormack government is supporting the growth of Australia’s resources sector to create more jobs, including in my home state of Queensland? Is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

Mr PITT (Hinkler—Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia): It’s a great pleasure to follow the Leader of the Opposition. It’s an opportunity I’ve been looking for for the last two weeks, and I’ve got it now.

Mr PITT: First and foremost, can I welcome the member for Eden-Monaro to the parliament and congratulate her on her victory in the recent by-election.

It’s always a great pleasure to follow the Manager of Opposition Business, a very passionate individual—in seven years, I’m sure there’s one opportunity somewhere.

Ken O’Dowd MP: My question is to the Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia—the place to be! Will the minister outline to the House how the McCormack-Morrison government is committed to the resources sector and explain why programs like Exploring for the Future are so important to job creation and securing Australia’s economic recovery?

My understanding is that, if a private member doesn’t jump up, I can seek the call. In the last remaining minutes, can I call out the hapless Premier Palaszczuk in Queensland, who is knocking down the Paradise Dam, in the member for Flynn’s electorate, and who is taking jobs away from my local people in the future.

Thank you for the invitation to join you here today to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific.