Phillip Barresi (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I ask the member for Gorton to at least acknowledge that what this government has done has helped to drive unemployment down and therefore enable real jobs growth to take place. You do not have to listen to what we have to say about this. The National Farmers Federation, very recently after the High Court decision, rejected claims by Labor’s shadow minister for regional development, Simon Crean, that Work Choices had had a detrimental impact on regional Australia. Work Choices, as the NFF has said, has provided the flexibility and a focus on productivity gains that regional communities have sought for many years, and we are seeing that with the growth taking place. The member for Richmond, who is no longer present in the House, mentioned that people would be sacked and that they did not have another job to go to. The member for Gorton and I at the moment are travelling around Australia looking at that employment growth, and we know that every time someone is dismissed it is a cost to the business. (Time expired)

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