Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

This is the worst government in Australian Federation history. Those opposite are addicted to a simple policy: they believe that the mindless, simple repetition of certain words will hypnotise the Australian people into believing that it is actually happening. And nowhere is the lie from this government greater than when it comes to them pretending to be about jobs and growth. Labor will never take a lecture from this mob about the creation of jobs. We will not take a lecture from them, and nor will Australians, about their faux commitment to employment when, since they got elected 700 days ago, unemployment is now at 800,000. Did you see how the so-called leader of Australia could not answer a straight question about how many people are unemployed? Did you see how his mouth went dry, his throat constricted and his eyes darted around the chamber when asked, 'When was the last time there were 800,000 people unemployed in this country?' He knows that it has not been since 1994. This is the worst anti-jobs Prime Minister we have seen in a very long time.

Mr Hockey is fond of saying what unemployment was in the Howard years, but I will remind Mr Hockey about jobs when he took over. Unemployment had a 'five' in front of it; it now has a 'six' in front of it. There are now 188,000 people who are long-term unemployed. There are 800,000 people who are unemployed full stop. There are over one million Australians who regularly record that they would like more hours of work. There are 800,000 people on the disability support pension, people who this government constantly malign and put in the too-hard basket. We see youth unemployment much higher than it should be. We see record highs of unemployment in Western Australia. Since Mr Abbott and his Liberals were elected in Australia, unemployment in Western Australia has gone up by nearly 30,000 people.

Jobs are a problem in this country and the government has no answer to it. Yet on Saturday in Adelaide this Prime Minister got up and said to the party faithful—which is a dwindling number, I recognise—that the government had had 'two great years in government'—that is his summary.

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