Palaszczuk kills regional jobs for inner city Greens votes

$30 million of mining equipment parked and dormant at Oakey’s Acland mine is a powerful metaphor for Premier Palaszczuk’s parked and dormant response to approving Acland Stage 3.

Senator Roberts visited the Acland Mine last Friday and listened to staff and local community members after touring the coalface and rehabilitation areas.

The Acland visit, along with listening to residents who oppose the mine, helped Senator Roberts to satisfactorily address a long list of criteria around Stage 3.

“The only reason the Premier is dodging the final approvals is that she is running scared leading up to October’s election,” stated Senator Roberts.

“Palaszczuk has her eye on the upcoming October election as Labor panders to inner city Green voters and sacrifices mining jobs in regional Queensland to cling to power at all costs.”

“To use outstanding court proceedings as a cloak of delay seems dishonest and gutless since the Palaszczuk Labor government approved Adani despite that mine’s High Court case at the time” added Senator Roberts.

The Environmental Defenders Office, while independent, receives funding from Queensland taxpayers and provides free legal support for these ongoing vexatious claims from Green activists.

Senator Roberts said, “The Queensland government is creating untold uncertainty and anxiety in a community whose prosperity depends on these coal jobs, and their funding of the EDO perpetuates this delay.  “We need opportunities for job creation post COVID-19 and a green light for Acland Stage 3 is perfect timing for Queensland’s economic recovery.”

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Health Minister stops smokers quitting

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Thousands of Australians, desperate to quit smoking, will find it almost impossible to purchase nicotine for vaping thanks to Minister Hunt’s capricious decision to ban nicotine imports.

When parliament resumes in August One Nation will move to disallow the new regulations and propose new rules for importing nicotine until local options are available.

“Instead of tackling the issue of illegal importation of nicotine at the border, Minister Hunt imposes draconian regulations that punish vaping users trying to give up smoking,” stated Senator Roberts.

British and New Zealand Governments widely support vaping as one of the most effective ways to quit smoking, however Australia has seen an increase in illegal nicotine supply, likely due to poor Border Force policing.

“This is a lazy decision on behalf of the Minister with zero consultation with industry, users and the medical profession,” Senator Roberts said.

The current laws require a doctor’s prescription prior to importation with proof given to Border Force to allow imports of nicotine for vaping based on prescriptions.

“The increase in illegal nicotine is Border Force not doing their job and not enforcing script-only imports,” said Senator Roberts.

A company needs to spend millions of dollars for research to get nicotine through the TGA process before there is any hope that an Australian chemist can sell it.

Senator Roberts added, “The Government needs to urgently fund the TGA approval process so Australians can buy nicotine for vaping without having to import it. “One Nation supports the use of nicotine for vaping to quit smoking and thousands of Australians can testify to its effectiveness.”

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Medical cannabis gets the green light

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One Nation has worked with the Government to pass legislation through the Senate to remove a major stumbling block that will expand the medical cannabis and hemp markets.

Senator Roberts said, “This is a game changer for the medical cannabis and hemp industries.”

The Certification of Narcotic Exports bill replaces the ad hoc approvals for exports with a streamlined process giving certainty to medical cannabis and hemp growers and manufacturers.

One Nation supports natural, whole plant medical cannabis via doctor’s prescription for a medical need, issued from a chemist and on the PBS, but does not support recreational use of cannabis.

“It is a lifeline for thousands of people currently forced to use illegal medical cannabis at high prices, as affordable legal cannabis is hard to obtain,” added Senator Roberts.

The bill will lead to a quick expansion of Australian production for export, which will bring about a greater range and lower prices for Australian patients.

Senator Roberts stated, “Export volumes assist local companies to grow plants with a wider range of profiles, allowing a patient to receive cannabis developed for their specific medical condition.”

“Australia has a unique competitive advantage with perfect climate, existing transport infrastructure and the international standard of Good Manufacturing Practice already in place.”

“Queensland is at the forefront of this multi-billion dollar export industry with a manufacturing facility at Southport, and expected growth to $1 billion over next four years.”

Hemp is known for its strength, durability and versatility, has wide application and its market growth looks promising. One Nation calls on the government to honour the intentions of this legislation and put in place export rules for cannabis that facilitate growers and manufacturers accessing export market.

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PFAS meetings kept secret

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One Nation Senator Roberts’ requests for documents relating to the Government’s PFAS Taskforce have been denied.

Minister Ley’s department, through the PFAS Taskforce, is responsible for solving the PFAS contamination disaster zones across Australia.

“PFAS contamination on air force bases in Australia has destroyed the lives of those bordering the bases, yet the supposed plan to help these residents is being kept secret,” Senator Roberts stated.

Senator Roberts added, “On behalf of the residents, I want to know what meetings are happening, who is attending and what actions are being agreed upon to help these people.”

One Nation is committed to achieving like-for-like relocation of residents in the red zones across Australia, and fair compensation for affected businesses.

“Instead of fair compensation for residents the Government is forcing red zone residents into court where their settlements are feeding lawyers instead of families.”

“PFAS has been a known problem for over 15 years and the ongoing refusal to release documents that give residents confidence of a resolution, suggests the Minister is hiding something,” Senator Roberts said.

The Hunter Valley wetlands, which the government is responsible for maintaining, has PFAS contamination that requires remediation.

The plume from RAAF Base Williamtown is heading south-east and only 50m from the Hunter River at Fern Bay and heading to Worimi surf beach.

“An effective strategy would be to pipe the groundwater back to the RAAF base and use the PFAS treatment plant they have built there to clean that water,” suggested Senator Roberts. The Government must stop the delays, take responsibility and provide like-for-like remediation and fair compensation for affected residents immediately.

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Ban ANTIFA terror

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Senator Malcolm Roberts calls on the Prime Minister to demonstrate the same political leadership as President Trump and declare ANTIFA a terrorist organisation.

“We need to stop these far-left anarchists who use violence and fear to push their radical socialist agenda before they recruit and organise further in Australia,” Senator Roberts said.

“Australia is a peaceful democratic nation where people resolve our differences through mutual respect and debate, culminating at the ballot box.”

ANTIFA are already attacking police and intimidating innocent people attending public events in Australia.

Senator Roberts added, “All responsible politicians should be defenders of our cultural, social and democratic values and it is the Prime Minister’s job to act urgently and decisively to protect the social fabric of our peaceful society.”

Australia’s political leaders need to swiftly and ruthlessly safeguard Australia from this same fate.  

ANTIFA protesters are self-proclaimed anti-capitalists, oppose freedom and democracy, and are destroying major cities in the USA.  

Modelling themselves on previous ANTIFA movements going back as far as the 1930’s, their agenda has always been aligned with communist political parties aimed at bringing about the downfall of capitalism.

The irony of this movement is that ANTIFA (formed from the term anti-fascists) are themselves behaving as fascists to suppress opposition and call for strict obedience to their self-determined culture of control over others.

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Senator Roberts calls to suspend University of Queensland funding

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Senator Roberts has called on the Government to suspend funding to the University of Queensland if it continues to be an agent for the Chinese Communist Party.

Senator Roberts stated, “The recent expulsion of a fourth-year philosophy student, based on his outspoken views against China, has exposed the influence of a communist dictatorship on an Australian university.” 

“This is another example of the recent worrying trend at Australian universities that is curtailing free speech and promoting left-wing ideology,” Senator Roberts said.

The University of Queensland is estimated to have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and hired top tier legal and consulting firms in pursuit against the outspoken student.  The vast majority of the 186-page dossier of allegations by the University against the student has been labelled absurdly trivial and borderline hysterical.

“This is a classical David versus Goliath scenario and the University of Queensland, hiding behind the purse strings of the Chinese Communist Party, has smashed our Australian value of free speech.”

The University of Queensland received $989 million in government funding in 2018 and today receives between 20-30% of its income from Chinese students. 

Senator Roberts added, “UQ needs to remember where the bulk of their funding comes from and they need to assure the Australian taxpayer that they are an Australian university, and not an overseas agent of the Communist Party.”

“This is Australia; we are a free and democratic nation, and we will not be bullied in our own country nor in our universities by the Chinese Communist Party.”

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Increase Queensland’s fishing quotas for economic stimulus

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Senator Roberts calls on the government to lift the onerous restrictions on the fishing industry and increase fishing quotas within our waters as part of an economic stimulus package.

“Successive governments have destroyed our once profitable fishing industry with self-imposed fishing limits well below international sustainability levels and introduced vast net-free zones,” stated Senator Roberts.

The World Resource Institute’s research shows that a well-managed sustainable harvest from a coral reef is 15,000kg per square kilometre annually. The Great Barrier Reef harvest is set at an outrageously low 9kg per square kilometre, which is 0.06% of the recommended sustainable harvest.

Our fishing industry hamstrung with bureaucratic and unscientific green tape, means Australians have to import approximately 80% of our seafood.

“It is unbelievable that Australia, which has the world’s largest continental shelf fishing zone, imports so much of our seafood from Thailand and China.”
The COVID19 crisis highlighted the unnecessary green tape that hobbles so many Australian industries. Rebuilding our fishing industry requires scientific-based quotas, revisiting current and future restrictions and reducing the net-free zones.

“Australia should have one of the world’s most profitable fishing industries and supply Australians with the majority of their seafood. Instead they are drowning in green tape and the industry is facing ruin.”

He added, “The Lib-Lab duopoly through unfair trade agreements and needlessly signing United Nations’ agreements has decimated our fishing industry.”

“The COVID19 crisis has sent us a stark reminder that unfettered globalisation has left Australia vulnerable and our sovereignty diluted”.

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Senator Roberts Concerned about Australia’s reliance on Professor Ferguson’s exaggerated COVID-19 modelling

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Senator Roberts has expressed deep concern that our national and state management of COVID-19 maybe responding to the exaggerated modelling predictions of Professor Ferguson.

Senator Roberts said, “Professor Ferguson’s assumptions that form the basis of his modelling have produced sensationally inaccurate predictions and this is not the first time Ferguson’s predictions have been wildly overstated.”

Professor Ferguson’s track record includes, but is not limited to, predicting 50,000 deaths from mad cow disease, reality was 177 deaths; 65,000 would die of swine flu, reality was 457 deaths and 200 million people may die from bird flu, reality was 282.

The Department of Health website cites the use of the Peter Doherty Institute Report, which references reliance on assumptions from the Imperial College COVID19 NPI Modelling Report, of which Professor Neil Ferguson is the first author.

“It is irrefutable that Professor Ferguson’s modelling predictions are exaggerated and his work has had far-reaching devastating impacts on national economies.”

Foot and mouth disease, which cost the British government £10 billion, was an extraordinary overreaction to an exaggerated claim made by Professor Ferguson.

The Australian Government has enacted a record $320 billion package, the economy is dismantling, the employment rate is rising and the nation’s mental health issues are starting to show themselves. 

Senator Roberts has written to the Prime Minister and Queensland’s Premier asking whether these significant health and economic responses, which will affect future generations, are based on the Doherty Institute Report and by default, the assumptions in Ferguson’s Imperial College Report.

“No business, economy nor community can hibernate and then just return to normal.  There will be devastating consequences from these decisions for some time to come,” Senator Roberts said.

“The people of Queensland and Australia deserve to have confidence that the Government’s serious and far-reaching decisions during this health crisis are based on credible and robust data and modelling,” Senator Roberts added.

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Murray Darling Basin investigation a whitewash

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One Nation Senator Roberts expressed sheer disbelief and disappointment with the Keelty report into the Murray Darling Basin’s water allocations to farmers who need water to grow food.

Senator Roberts said, “As the nation reels from COVID-19 and faces food shortages this report is woefully inadequate and a tragic waste of taxpayers’ money. “

“An investigation should demonstrate rigour and analysis and instead Mr Keelty’s report is full of inadequacies.”

The report fails to include in its datasets this year’s substantial rainfall event and does not acknowledge rainfall within the MDB has increased over the past 100 years. Instead the Keelty analysis deceitfully uses ‘declining inflows’ as a way of arguing why farmers should be denied a fair allocation of water.

When 4000 disenchanted farmers descended on Canberra to protest the unfair allocation of water between the environment and farmers, they were promised that their zero allocations would be the subject of this review.

“It is deeply disappointing, particularly now when our agricultural productive capacity is under-utilised, that this issue was not rigorously examined by Mr Keelty.  Astonishingly the report fails to even mention those zero allocations,” added Senator Roberts.

As predicted by many farmers, the former Water Minister David Littleproud used the promise of an investigation into the MDB to quieten the crowd of protestors and conveniently shift blame to the States and irrigators.

Irrigators are suspicious of MDBA figures that show declining inflows when the Murray River has been running so high that environmental damage has resulted along the upper Murray and Barmah/Millewa forest from excessive water.

Disturbingly the report claims that environmental water is not being wasted, ignoring the unnecessary flooding of forests, excess water flushed out to sea in South Australia and keeping the lower lakes filled above their natural levels with Murray River water.

“The report may as well have been written by the MDBA itself, as it addresses none of the concerns from farmers, some of which have gone without a water allocation for 3 years.”

COVID-19 has highlighted the critical importance of Australia restoring our productive capacity across many strategic industries, including our agricultural sector.

“The Keelty report’s lack of due diligence in this investigation is akin to the last nail in the coffin of one of Australia’s most substantial food bowls. No water, no food,” Senator Roberts added.

Unsurprisingly, the report found that a lack of trust and leadership worsened the problems. One Nation calls for a Royal Commission into misconduct in the implementation of the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

“Trust cannot be restored until rorting has been exposed and fixed.  Australia needs management of the MDB Plan that reflects a genuine triple benefit – for irrigators, communities and the environment,” Senator Roberts stated.

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One Nation calls for Australians to buy Australian-Made

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One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts urges Australians to unite under our flag and buy Australian-made and Australian-owned.

“While the COVID 19 crisis reminds us of the importance of supporting Australian-made, it also shows we no longer make many essential goods here on our shores, which become a major security threat,” stated Senator Roberts.

Successive Australian governments have allowed, encouraged and at times driven our manufacturing industry to move off-shore leaving us dependent on overseas countries like China for basic goods.

In his senate speech on 8 April, Senator Roberts stated that Australia’s productive capacity has been smashed under Liberal-National and Labor-Green governments blindly adopting the globalist strategy of “interdependence” that has made us too heavily dependent on foreign sources.

One Nation calls on the Australian Government to immediately prioritise creating an environment where Australian businesses grow and thrive and are not hamstrung by a globalist agenda.

When Australia was in need of urgent medical supplies to treat people with COVID19 we were reliant on suppliers in China rather than having our own thriving manufacturing industry.

Australia’s manufacturing sector has deteriorated over the years with only 6% of GDP coming from manufacturing, down from 30% fifty years ago. 

Senator Roberts implores the Federal Government to remove government-imposed regulations like the self-imposed Paris Agreement, pointless climate regulations, unnecessary over-regulation and other government hurdles and instead encourage our manufacturing industries.

Senator Roberts added, “Our manufacturers have endured a new high in 2019 for electricity input prices, which now averages over 90% higher, almost double, than the prices in 2010. Gas prices have increased nearly 50% over the same ten-year period.”

“Australian energy prices have gone from the cheapest to the most expensive in the world due to climate policies and that is making manufacturing unviable in Australia.”

When the COVID19 virus has passed and we are left to repair a broken economy, we will need to reassess the importance of previous spending commitments, such as billions of dollars wasted in subsidising intermittent wind and solar power to virtue signal to the United Nations.

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