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

Let me go to the specific question raised by the Leader of the Opposition. To quote another, Labour, leader: fairness in the workplace starts with the chance of a job. The greatest gift that this government has given to the families of Australia over the last 10½ years has been the dramatic reduction in the level of unemployment. There is no greater cause of family stress and family breakdown than the loss of economic independence brought about through the loss of a job. I would remind the parliament, and I would remind the Leader of the Opposition, that when we had more than a million people out of work in this country the Labor Party was in office. The great gift that this government has brought to the families of Australia and therefore, according to the definition of the Leader of the Opposition, the family values of this country is to put more Australian families back into the workforce.

When families have breadwinners, you have families that hold their heads high and you have families that have a sense of security, hope and independence. When you have families that do not have any breadwinners—and there were close to one million of them back in the early 1990s—you have a collapse of family unity and cohesion and a collapse of family morale. I say to the Leader of the Opposition, if he really wants a fair go for families: give them the chance of a job, give the chance of a decent wage increase and give them the chance of success if they want to invest their savings in a small business and aspire to a better future. My view about prospering Australian families is in a nation where people are encouraged to aspire to have a go and to better themselves, not in returning Australia to a union-dominated, rule-ridden past.

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