Senator Eric Abetz

Address to the Young Liberal Movement Federal Convention, Sydney

Welcome to 2012: a year which promises to be even more difficult than the last.

A year in which the cost of living will increase even further due to the Carbon Tax.

A year in which the debt burden placed on the next generation will balloon to phenomenal proportions. Quite frankly, it is hard to see how Australia can endure another 12 months of Labor's seven deadly sins.

Address to the Australian Industry Group PIR Conference, Canberra

From the aspirations of a student wanting to earn money after school through to the ongoing viability of Australia's icon, Qantas – the workplace relations agenda has been a busy one in 2011 and promises to be even busier in 2012.

From dealing with the aspirations of a student to the national carrier we are reminded that the workplace relations regime is far reaching.

From dealing with a student to an airline, we are reminded that the system of workplace relations needs to be flexible and responsive.

When people run out of a burning building it is the firefighters who run in to ensure the safety of the premises and the safety of individuals. They are willing to put their lives at risk for the sake of others and their property. They are people whom all Australians should salute. We in the coalition do so.

There is good, clear evidence that, in general terms, firefighters are healthier than the average punter when they begin their careers as firefighters. That is how we want them. In fact, that is how we need them, because of the physical tasks they are required to undertake. The sad fact is that once they come to the end of their careers as firefighters they are more likely than the rest of the community to suffer from a number of cancers. Health and fitness epidemiological studies, the study of people and their health and other matters—I will not go into the technical detail—indicate that, by all accounts, firefighters when they start their careers would be less likely than the average punter to contract various types of cancers but that at the end of their careers they are more likely to suffer cancers.

Every now and then we meet a remarkable person that leaves a lasting impression, some for good.

The person I want to speak of this evening is a person I only met once and the impression left was good - good writ large.

The ideology imbedded in the Australian Greens is the very antithesis of the force that has made our country and the West so dominant in world affairs - the envy of the world.

That force is a force for good.

It is the force that has given us our personal freedoms, our economic freedoms, our standard of living, our schools and our hospitals. It has given us our fundamental values system that every individual counts on.