Speeches

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.

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.

Mr PITT: To those opposite: the minister who spoke earlier has outlined a lot of these issues and what the government is doing to address them.

Ms BUTLER: My question is to the Minister for Resources and Water. Does the minister support the development of a domestic nuclear power industry fuelled by

Mr PITT: Lives have been lost across the country, as the previous speaker has said. Some 11 million hectares have been destroyed by fire. Individuals

Mr PITT: Many in this chamber may have got an email from a mob that call themselves Extinction Rebellion. Some anonymous numpty has taken it

Mr PITT: I once again find myself on my feet speaking after the member for Barton, the shadow minister, on the cashless debit card. I

Mr PITT: Can I acknowledge the contribution of the member for Blaxland, which is incredibly important to all Australians. It is a fantastic message that

Mr PITT: First and foremost I agree with some of the most recent comments from the previous member. I’ve described them this way before and

Mr PITT : As you know, Shop Small was in town and in parliament last night. Why is shopping local important? Because it means shopping

Mr PITT: It’s always a great pleasure to follow on from the member for Melbourne. I really think he’s missing the point because the point

Mr PITT: I rise to explain to the House what it is the coalition government has been delivering into my electorate of Hinkler in the

Mr PITT: Today in the Queensland parliament history was made, and I have to say not in a good way, with the Queensland Labor Premier,

Mr PITT: I’ll congratulate the International Labour Organization on its 100th anniversary, because what all of us know in this place is that to achieve

Mr PITT: In speaking on this motion, I’m going to start with some tongue-in-cheek comments. This issue is ‘so important’ to those opposite. Let us

Mr PITT: I just want to give a shout-out to the Bundaberg Christian College and their year 9 groups, 20 of which came through my

Mr PITT: I thank the member for Lilley for opening the door on the Queensland Labor government. One thing I will point out to the

Mr PITT: Mr Deputy Speaker, as I’m sure you and everyone else in the chamber are aware, last week the city of Hervey Bay was

Mr PITT: We’ve heard a lot about congestion and roads and cities. I note the member for McEwen’s contribution, about how people are moving out

Mr PITT: I’m dressed up for dams, would you believe! We’re here in the Federation Chamber, it’s late evening and we are talking about critical water

Mr PITT: Thank you very much. Can I say to all those who are out there listening, who might be thinking about a trade: a