Well, at the last federal election, the Australian Greens lost three of their four federal seats in the House of Representatives. They now hold only one lower house seat in Australia, and that’s in my home state of Queensland: the federal seat of Ryan, where I lived when I first joined the then Liberal Party of Australia.
So I noted with interest the Greens’ latest policy proposal, which is to establish a sort of Soviet collective-style supermarket chain.
What the Greens are actually proposing is, at a cost of $25.1 billion, to forcibly acquire 200 existing supermarket stores across Australia and three distribution centres, and then build 424 new public stores.
All at a cost of $25.1 billion.
What could possibly go wrong? Well, what could possibly go right?
It seems to me that the Australian Greens haven’t learned much from the collapse of communism around the world, including the failure of the Soviet collective model.
So I say to the good people of Ryan, those living in Kenmore who shop at Kenmore Coles: watch out. Kenmore Coles could be on the Soviet-style nationalisation list of the Australian Greens.
And to those good people in Ashgrove who shop at Woolworths Ashgrove, a great store: watch out. The Greens are coming for Woolworths Ashgrove, and every other supermarket you frequent in Ryan if it falls within the 200 stores they intend to acquire.
So I say to the people of Ryan: reject the Greens’ Soviet-style supermarket collective and support the wonderful LNP candidate for Ryan, Maggie Forrest. She is a terrific candidate, a terrific woman, and exactly the local representative Ryan needs.
Acting Deputy President, I was delighted to attend the Bethania Rams Football Club presentation day and 40th birthday celebrations in Logan over the weekend.
Forty years. Forty years of providing opportunities for young people to play football, participate in sport, be mentored, be coached, come together and enjoy themselves.
Forty years of bringing people together from diverse multicultural backgrounds, with families originating from all over the world, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Afghanistan, all coming together through football, just as our Socceroos represented us in a truly multicultural fashion at the World Cup.
Forty years of producing inspiring people, such as their President, Casey Statham, who joined the club as a player and is now serving as president, doing a tremendous job leading the club.
In 2026, the Bethania Rams had 352 registered junior players, and they already have more than 100 expressions of interest for the 2027 season.
So congratulations to the team at Bethania Rams, and I look forward to the next 40 years.
Acting Deputy President, as the only senator based in the Greater Ipswich region of the great state of Queensland, can I say that Ipswich punches above its weight when it comes to sport.
I was delighted to attend the Ipswich Little Athletics 50th anniversary and Twilight Carnival on Saturday, 10 October 2026, and I thank Centre Manager Joshua Roney for his kind invitation.
It was wonderful to spend the day with families participating in athletics, coming together and enjoying some of the very best sporting opportunities Ipswich has to offer.
I also want to give a quick shout-out to one athlete I met on the day: a young fellow by the name of Jeff Schroeder. Jeff is a 12-year-old para-athlete classified as F37 in World Para Athletics. He recently competed at the national discus and shot put championships and has aspirations of one day competing at the Paralympic Games.
It was a real joy to meet Jeff and his mother, and I wish him and his family all the very best for the future.
Acting Deputy President, I had a wonderful trip to Far North Queensland last week. I note that Senator Green is in the chamber, and she told me I would have a great time visiting some of the places I visited, and indeed I did.
I first want to give a shout-out to the Gordonvale Chamber of Commerce. I visited Gordonvale and want to thank the local state MP, Terry James, for hosting my visit.
I had a wonderful meeting with members of the Gordonvale Chamber of Commerce, including President Susan Byrne-Callaghan and Secretary Earl Wickham. They shared with me their vision to establish the Gordonvale Cultural Precinct in this historically significant town.
We should note that the Cairns Southern Growth Corridor is experiencing significant population growth, and the Gordonvale Cultural Precinct is a wonderful and visionary concept that would leverage Gordonvale’s rich history, including its architecture and the Mulgrave Mill, all within a magnificent natural setting, featuring the iconic Walshs Pyramid, which towers over Gordonvale and is one of Far North Queensland’s most recognisable landmarks.
I want to thank the Gordonvale Chamber of Commerce for sharing that vision with me. It is because of the efforts of people like Susan and Earl, supported by Terry James, that this vision can become a reality.
I recommend to everyone that they visit Gordonvale and experience everything the town has to offer.
Acting Deputy President, I also had a wonderful trip to Weipa last week, and I want to congratulate the Weipa Town Authority, including its Chairperson, Jamie Gaine.
I must say that everyone I met in Weipa is incredibly enthusiastic about their community. They love living there. Many people leave Weipa, only to come back again, and I can understand why.
There is a tremendous sense of community and a wealth of opportunities to enjoy everything the great Australian outback has to offer, including fishing, camping and a range of other outdoor activities.
There are also outstanding community events in Weipa, and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Weipa Pottery Club shop.
I even purchased a small piece of Weipa pottery, which now sits on the window ledge in my parliamentary office for anyone who would like to see it. Naturally, it has a bauxite theme, reflecting the enormous contribution Weipa makes to Australia’s economy through bauxite mining.
I also visited the mine site and want to thank the representatives of Rio Tinto for hosting my visit.
A number of senators in the chamber will know that I worked in the mining industry for 12 years before joining the Senate. Visiting the mine site brought back many memories.
I was extremely impressed with all aspects of the operation, including the excellent housekeeping standards, the strong camaraderie among workers and the prospect of Rio Tinto making a very significant future investment decision.
That investment could constitute one of the largest private investments in Queensland, and indeed Australia, in relation to future mining operations in the region. I sincerely hope that proceeds.
Acting Deputy President, my good friend Senator Susan McDonald asked a question earlier today regarding rising fuel costs.
She put it to the Leader of the Government in the Senate that the government should consider the Coalition’s Fuel Price Shield policy. Under that policy, once the average Brent crude oil price rises above US$100 a barrel, fuel excise would immediately be halved.
The effect would be to reduce fuel tax by around 27 cents per litre, saving motorists approximately $15 on a typical tank of fuel.
I also note that truck drivers would receive additional relief, with the heavy vehicle road user charge reduced from 32.4 cents per litre to zero in such circumstances.
That policy is fully funded because it would be paid for through the additional revenue generated under the Coalition’s broader excise policy framework.
