Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the member for Moreton for his question because he, like everyone on this side of the House, is committed to being a pro-jobs government. Yes, we are a government with a plan for jobs for all Australians. The reason why I say that we are a pro-jobs government is that since Labor has been elected 800,000 new jobs have been created—an enviable record anywhere in the industrialised world. Despite a soft labour market, we still have unemployment of 5.1 per cent. We have 462,000 apprentices and trainees—462,000. That is something which everyone in this House should take pleasure in, because that is good for the nation.

But the member for Moreton also said, 'What are we doing for good jobs?' I can assure members of the House that this is a government who support penalty rates in our system. We believe that low-paid Australians should be paid for working unsociable, un-family-friendly hours. When I look around the nation at we are doing for jobs, I look at the support that federal Labor gives to the car industry in Victoria. In Western Australia I look at the fact that we are building infrastructure for all our fly-in fly-out workers to get from Perth to the mines of Western Australia. In Tasmania, there is the NBN; in New South Wales, financial services; South Australia, the air warfare destroyers; and in Queensland we took the decision to back Queensland to rebuild.

But the member for Moreton asked what alternative approaches there are. I think, members of the House, we need to have a conversation about Campbell, because Campbell Newman has a different approach to jobs. Just ask about BHP. Just ask Anglo and Rio what they think about the Queensland LNP jobs-killing royalties propositions that they are advancing.

Mr Pyne interjecting—

See this speech in context