Michael Ferguson (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We are being interjected on by people who continue to support Labor Party rhetoric. They choose to conveniently ignore the fact that this country was left on a terrible footing when the Howard government came to office in March 1996. They conveniently overlook the unemployment rate, which exceeded nine per cent with more than one million people unemployed. They talk about the good times coming to an end. They are very fortunate to be in opposition and in parliament at a time when Australia is doing very well. The economic reforms of the last 20 years, not just the last 11, have been necessary to bring Australia and its economy to the position it is in today.

The Prime Minister made the point in question time that sensible economic reforms that were initiated by the Hawke and Keating governments were supported by the coalition. And so they should have been. The same cannot be said of today’s opposition, which at every opportunity has failed to jump the hurdle and support the economic reform that continues to place Australia in a competitive place in the world market.

The Howard government has taken Australia’s standard of living for its people from 13th in the OECD to eighth position. The economic reforms of the last 11 years have been absolutely critical in getting the budget into shape and people into work. Policies have been implemented that take the pressure off people’s budgets—interest rates—and also give more money back to people in their pockets through tax reform. Workplace relations reform was necessary and it is an absolutely key issue. Labor will wind back the clock. The words ‘roll back’ were used today and, just like the GST, the false claims of the Labor Party will be shown for what they are. They have consistently lied and fear has been peddled in the community.

I am pleased to report to the House that the community does not believe the Labor Party’s lies and false claims about Work Choices. Labor said there would be mass sackings but the opposite has occurred. In the order of 260,000 Australians have been able to find work, many of them for the first time. I am pleased to report that close to 90 per cent of those new jobs that were created are full-time jobs. This is giving families hope and an opportunity to plan for the future with confidence. In respect of the mistruths peddled by the Labor Party, and its claims today that the government is arrogant—which is the easiest claim for an opposition of whichever colour to make; it is cheap populism—unfortunately the facts are not on the Labor Party side. The Labor Party of late have been talking a lot about productivity. They say it in almost every breath now. We never heard it under the Beazley opposition but today, under the Rudd opposition, it is all about productivity. They can pronounce it but they do not understand it. (Time expired)

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