At that meeting last week, it was very, very clear from the delegation from Victoria that they were focused on one thing: their re-election, not the reduction of power bills for the Australian people. That was their focus. Right through this process, the Victorian government have otherwise supported the National Energy Guarantee.  Read more

I am opposed to the Restoring Territory Rights (Assisted Suicide Legislation) Bill 2015 because I believe in the sanctity of human life. Leaving the state to assist and sanction suicide, in my view, would diminish the special and unique gift of human life. Read more

In many parts of this country the drought has been ongoing. Many parts of western Queensland have had six or seven years of failed wet seasons in a row, and obviously that has an impact not just on the farm business but on the wider community. That's why we on 1 August took the decision to extend our farm household payment assistance from a maximum of three years to four years to recognise the length and severity of the drought. Read more

The clear lesson around the world is that the countries that do develop their energy resources, if they're lucky enough to have them, have cheap energy. We traditionally have had that advantage. On our side of politics, we believe in the development of our energy resources to make Australia a strong economy, to create jobs, to support our manufacturing industry and to help households keep power bills down too. Read more

I would say that the government is very proud of the PaTH program and the 25,000 jobs it's created, particularly for young Australians. As I said earlier today, it's very important that we give young Australians a start. So we make no apology for creating a very strong program that can do that. Read more

We've been focused on creating jobs for the last five years. We've been focused on creating jobs because the most important start for young Australians is the opportunity to have a job. It is great news for this country that more than a million jobs have been created over that period. Indeed 400,000 jobs, a record number of jobs, were created last year, in one calendar year.  Read more

Exporters are responsible for ensuring that they meet the animal welfare requirements under Commonwealth and state law. The investigation was conducted by the independent regulator, which the government fully supported, with a show cause notice and a suspension being issued.  Read more

The government has been well aware of the Incitec Pivot's challenges to supply an adequate amount of gas to its facility, and it is great news for Queensland and great news for Australia that, on Monday, Incitec Pivot was able to reach a deal with Central Petroleum for a 12-month 32-terajoules-a-day gas supply contract that will help keep that plant open. Read more

The first thing I would like to point out is that the formal vote that will be occurring in the Kimba and Hawker regions is only one input; it is not the only thing the government is doing through this process to judge community support. Yes, of course, that will be a very important factor; but we are also taking submissions and views from people who live outside the formal regions. Read more

As has been expressed by the government, the government is willing to assist the South Australian royal commission in its inquiry into the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. However, there is no jurisdiction for a state based royal commission to use coercive powers against the Commonwealth, including its agencies and employees.  Read more