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

I thank the member for Reid for his question. He has a profound interest in making sure that all Australians get access to good and fair jobs. I can tell him that as we speak more Australians than ever in the history of the Commonwealth are at work. I can also tell him there are more Australians working full time than ever before. I can also tell him that Australians are working harder than they have been in a very, very long time. I can inform him that labour productivity has gone up not only in the last quarter or the quarter before but no less than seven times. Australians, despite some of the doom-and-gloom merchants opposite, are working hard, and there are more of them working, and one of the reasons is that we have a very good set of workplace relations laws.

To support this proposition that Australians are doing well, I can also inform the member for Reid that, despite some of the opposition propaganda and spin, the amount of lost time in industrial action in this country for the life of Labor governments is lower than it was under the coalition when they were in power. It is not just half as low as it was; it is a third as low. I can even say that in the construction sector, much beloved of some of the opposition propagandists, industrial action in that very tough sector is also well down, with the average under a Labor government lower than it was under the conservatives.

We are not content to rest on our laurels. We are not complacent about the 960,000 jobs. We also want to make sure that Australia has a bright future. One of the ways we are making sure Australia has a bright future is by making sure that our kids get the best chance in life. That is why all in this House should be supporting the National Plan for School Improvement. For those who would perhaps listen to the opposition catchcry that Labor somehow is off on its own in wanting to give the best chance in life for our kids in the future workforce then I would give them the evidence of Premier Barry O'Farrell. How is it that thoughtful Liberals in the state of New South Wales will pick the kids over the politics, but less thoughtful coalition members in the federal parliament will pick the politics over the kids? That is not how we train the workforce of the future. Nine in 10 of the fastest-growing sectors in the Australian economy for jobs require a post-secondary-school education. We cannot afford to betray future generations by not giving our kids the best chance in life. We also cannot afford to betray the current generation by allowing Liberal workplace relations laws to come into practice.

If we need evidence, despite the squirming, secret, small-target plans of those opposite, let's have a look at how state Liberal governments go when they get into power. It may interest the member for Reid—in conclusion—when he talks about obstacles to good workplaces that 72 per cent of recent industrial disputes have been caused by state conservative governments, because Liberals make bad bosses.

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