Senator CAMERON (New South Wales) (16:18): Following Senator Boswell and Senator Macdonald is always good fun. Responding to the claptrap that goes on in relation to their position, when they try to argue points that have no scientific basis, no basis in fact, is always pretty easy. Senator Macdonald talks about realism and truth. I have not heard that from the coalition since I have been in this place. They are not realistic about what is happening to the climate. They are not realistic about what is happening to our oceans. They are not realistic about the need to take steps to protect our ocean, the same way as we protect our forests and our biodiversity. There is no absolutely no realism from the coalition. And, when it comes to truth, I think the truth and you guys are big strangers. The extremists in the coalition have got control, and the extremists in the coalition are arguing that there is no climate change, that we should just ignore what is happening, ignore what the scientists tell us and not worry if the scientific community around the world says there is grave danger from global warming and climate change. The coalition just ignore it and they go for the bottom line—low shots and no long-term vision for this country, absolutely none. So do not come here talking to us about realism and truth, saying that the Pew foundation and Greenpeace are going to close down Australia. Give us a break! How about getting some of the realism that you talk about into the claptrap that comes from you lot over there? The Sun Oil Company set up the Pew foundation—not exactly the Red Guard. The Sun Oil Company took the view that they had to protect the environment. What do they say? They say that they actually base their analysis on facts, not like the coalition, as we have seen from Senator Boswell and Senator Macdonald. You run fear campaigns on every issue. If there is an issue or a policy, out comes the coalition fear campaign. There is a fear campaign on the pricing of carbon. Who cares about what this is going to do to future generations? Just run the fear campaign, run the opposition position, run the big no. On refugees, again the fear campaign comes out of the back pocket. Simply fear is what the coalition run on. On the economy, out comes the fear campaign. We have got the most robust economy in the world, and yet they run a fear campaign. I always like reminding the coalition about Sir Robert Menzies and what he said on 24 July 1942. He was talking about his liberal creed, something I do not think too many across there know much about. I know that there are some who think they are experts on the history of the coalition. On 24 July 1942, Robert Menzies said: Nothing could be worse for democracy than to adopt the practice of permitting knowledge to be overthrown by ignorance. We have seen an example of ignorance trying to overthrow knowledge from Senator Macdonald, although he is in the LNP, but I am not sure what that means—whether he is in the Liberal Party or not. He has been showing ignorance. Senator Boswell—ignorance in terms of the facts. Sir Robert Menzies went on to say: Fear can never be a proper or useful ingredient in those mutual relations of respect and good-will which ought to exist between the elector and the elected. You are the elected and you use fear continually to drive an ideological position in support of the rich and powerful in this country. He went on to say: And so, as we think about it we shall find more and more how disfiguring a thing fear is in our own political and social life. It is pretty disfiguring when you watch it in action from the coalition. Do not worry about the scientists and do not worry about the facts, just go with the fear campaign. He further went on to say: It is the fear of knowledge which prevents so many of us from really using our minds, and which makes so many of us ready slaves to cheap and silly slogans and catch-cries. We heard the cheap and silly slogans from Senator Boswell and Senator Macdonald. We heard the catchcries from Senator Boswell and Senator Macdonald, and they were pretty silly and pretty cheap. They were just not substantive at all. Menzies also said: In brief, Australian Liberalism must present itself as the party of action, and the party of the future. We are not the ANTI party, but the PRO party. Tell that to your leader. Tell that to the people who are in there saying no on every issue. Tell that to the people who are out there on the fear campaigns. I can tell you someone who has actually picked up a bit of that creed— The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Order! Senator Cameron, you are just starting to stray away from the substance of the motion before the chair. I draw your attention back to the motion. Senator CAMERON: I thought it was bang on, Mr Deputy President. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Cameron, I just draw your attention to the motion. Senator CAMERON: Thank you, Mr Deputy President. When you have coalition MPs standing up and using fear in the debate you are entitled to deal with it, in my view. I accept what you have said. I just want to come to someone who must have understood what Robert Menzies was saying, and that is Peter Lindsay, the former Liberal MP for Herbert. I am sure you will all know the Hon. Peter Lindsay. He was the member for Herbert from 1993 to 2007. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, he was a Deputy Speaker and he was a councillor for the Townsville City Council for 11 years, so I think he knows a little bit about what is happening up in the north of this country. He wrote an article in the Courier-Mail on 29 May in which he was talking about the establishment of the Coral Sea National Park. He said: This singular act would be a fitting addition to Australia's long history of setting aside national parks to safeguard our natural wonders and unique wildlife. … … … The enormous show of support includes school children, recreational fishers, divers and tourism businesses. More than 300 marine scientists from 21 countries have endorsed the need for a stronger plan. Senator Macdonald would know the Hon. Peter Lindsay well. Mr Lindsay is actually dealing with the reality, not the nonsense we have seen from Senator Boswell. The Labor government is determined to look after our oceans; it is determined to look after our environment. You hear about the lockout of recreational fishermen, and Senator Boswell talked about this being an attack on blue-collar workers. I do not know too many blue-collar workers that would be putting in their little tinnie with a five-horsepower motor on the back at Bundaberg and heading out 492 kilometres to find their first national marine park. Let me tell you what this is about: it is about protecting the big end of town. It is about the big luxury cruisers with the multimillionaires and the billionaires and the marlin fishers getting out into these proposed marine parks. Nobody should be under any illusion about what this is: it is typical Liberal and coalition policy. Look after the big end of town. The little dinghies are not getting pushed out from Cairns to go 210 kilometres before they find a marine park. The boilermaker finishing work in the workshop is not going home and saying to the wife and kids, 'Let's go out on the weekend and do a bit of fishing; we'll head out to this marine park and we'll go 492 kilometres in the tinnie.' Give us a break. It is an absolute load of nonsense that these people are going on with. They are anti science, they are environmental vandals and they are economic incompetents, and they have the cheek to stand up here and talk to us about protecting the environment. You are an absolute disgrace when it comes to the environment. John Howard knew what had to be done; he was prepared to do it, and you have knocked that whole policy position off. You should get on with this and look after our environment.