I congratulate Michael McCormack on his re-election as Leader of the Nationals and David Littleproud on his election as Deputy Leader of the Nationals.
It has been a great honour to work with Michael and the Prime Minister as part of Cabinet. I will now commit to supporting Michael and the Coalition as a Senator for Queensland.
The Nationals party is at its best when it acts as an amplifier for the concerns and frustrations of those that live in areas where the light at night comes from the moon or the stars, not fossil fuel powered electricity.
Over the last decade the Nationals have done an amazing job in growing our support and helping consolidate a Coalition government. We have done that by forcefully ignoring the loud Australians that want to glibly take away people’s jobs, stop people from developing their own land and deride the basic family values that keeps communities tight.
Instead we are building dams, coal fired power stations, new roads and supporting families. Over the last decade the Nationals have become the true party of the worker. The people we fight for are those that wear bright orange, bright yellow and even bright pink. They are the most visible people in the airport but they often get ignored by the comfortable commentariat of our nation.
The Nationals have grown and consolidated their vote over the last three elections, and if we keep fighting hard for workers we will continue to do that. I look forward to working with my Nationals colleagues and the broader Coalition to do that.
