Terri Butler (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As you well know, during the last Labor government we had a global financial crisis, and because of the expert financial management of that Labor government, what did we come out of the global financial crisis with? We had a AAA credit rating, one of the lowest net debts in the OECD and the 12th largest economy in the world. If you want to talk about debt, you compare the net debt that Australia had at the end of the global financial crisis with the OECD average. Everyone in this chamber knows that Labor's expert management during the global financial crisis saved hundreds of thousands of jobs. It is something we are very proud of because on this side of the chamber we actually care about jobs. We are not out there saying that the cuts to the ABC, the flagrant breach of promise by this government, is somehow not of any consequence, when one in 10 jobs in the ABC is going. We actually understand that every one of those people who are losing their jobs before Christmas is going to be devastated because we care about jobs, unlike this mob. What have they done?

What is the unemployment rate now? It is 6.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted. A 6.2 per cent unemployment rate because of the record of this government. When are you lot going to start taking responsibility? You are in government. Start taking some responsibly for the state of this nation and the state of its economy—6.2 per cent unemployment. Might I add that in my home state of Queensland, it is seven per cent, seasonally adjusted. It is an absolute disgrace. It is an absolute shame what Liberals and Nationals do to our economy and to our unemployment rate.

Why does this mob opposite, this government opposite, not care about the jobs for working Australians? Don't they understand that in a more equal economy, in an economy where people have dignity, they have work, not only is it good for the economy; it is good for the budget? I say on this point of jobs that one of the greatest problems with not having a job is that it makes it even harder to bear the cost of living. What has this government done for the cost of living?

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