Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) I too rise tonight to speak on the minerals resource rent tax bills. If I might start with an observation, tonight we are not hearing from members of the government. Mr Ripoll interjecting– This is my 10c worth. Are they not sufficiently encouraged by the merit of this tax to…
Telecommunications in 2011 should be seen as one of the basic tenets of life. It should be seen as something that is available to all Australians. Indeed a mobile phone is the first point of call for most people, and in many places people have done away with their landlines and are operating completely…
I too rise this afternoon to speak on the Social Security Amendment (Student Income Support Reforms) Bill 2011. While it is with some degree of satisfaction that I rise to acknowledge that this bill will correct an anomaly in delivering outcomes for regional students, it is very frustrating that it has taken two years to…
This morning I rise to speak about an issue of grave concern to the people of regional Australia, in particular the people of my electorate-that is, the scandal that has been the Gillard government’s approach to funding regional Australia. Mr Deputy Speaker, you might remember just over 12 months ago, during the period of negotiation…
While it is tempting to spend my time rebutting the member for Melbourne’s speech, I will try to resist. But I will say that in this House I have never heard so much emotional claptrap so removed from reality. The member for Melbourne thanked the people of Melbourne for putting him here for this momentous…
16:50 Tonight I rise to speak of an issue that is becoming increasingly concerning in my electorate. It is the conflict between the expanding coal seam gas industry and agriculture. The coal seam gas industry has been established in Queensland for quite some time, but it is relatively new in New South Wales and is…
The topic of this afternoon’s matter of public importance is the adverse impact of the carbon tax on the Australian economy. I might just touch on the contributions we have heard from the government side. We heard the rant from the Minister for Trade, the flippant 15 minutes of diatribe that was completely unrelated to…
Mr COULTON (Parkes-The Nationals Chief Whip) (20:46): I rise tonight to speak on the bill introduced by the member for Melbourne. I cannot believe that we are actually debating this bill. I could understand when it was first introduced by the member but times have changed. Surely in the last few weeks we have…
Mr COULTON (Parkes-The Nationals Chief Whip) (20:32): I too rise this evening to speak on the motion of the member for Gippsland on the impact of wild dogs. I acknowledge his contribution and his genuine concern about this issue, and I also acknowledge the contribution of the member for Lyons and his long interest…
Mr COULTON (Parkes-The Nationals Chief Whip) (19:01): I am pleased that the member for Wills spoke long enough to say something that I did agree with. What I do agree with is that the mistreatment of animals cannot be accepted at any price. What I cannot agree with is the way that this government has…