John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I was asked about the proceedings of the ALP’s industrial relations task force and I was suggesting, Mr Speaker, that if they asked the right questions they would get completely objective answers. As for the questions that ought to be asked, they ought to be asked: what has happened to productivity? What has happened to employment? What has happened to taxation? What has happened to interest rates? What has happened to the general prosperity of Australia? What has happened to real wages? I would be asking what the real wage rise was between 1983 and 1996. I would have to truthfully answer, if I were a member, ‘1.3 per cent’. I would ask what it was between 1996 and 2006. Truthfully, I would have to say ‘16.8 per cent’. I have finished my answer, Mr Speaker.

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