Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have great respect for the members opposite. But I would like to finish on this point: if you took some modelling based on the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, had they not followed the regime that they did and had followed what the unions had put to them over that time, quite apart from 500,000 people going back into jobs, we would have lost another 386,000 jobs over the 10-year period. I wonder what that would have done to Australia today. It just shows you that subtle balance. If Labor had stayed in power and just let things go along the way they were, forgetting about the Commonwealth debt and everything else, based on that modelling you would have had about another 365,000 people out of work, and that would not be acceptable. So I think we have seen a very good budget against a backdrop of new industrial relations reform. I say to those people who are a little apprehensive: from 1996 to 2006 we kept our compact with you and created more jobs and a higher standard of living. Give us another 10 years like that and we will show you an even greater and more prosperous Australia.

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