Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Parkes. As a fellow New South Welshman and Blue, he would understand that we cannot underestimate the importance of the New South Wales economy to the national economy. Under the coalition, half of our economic growth last year was from New South Wales, under the strong leadership of the coalition government in New South Wales and the Turnbull government leadership at a national level. Some 372,000 jobs have been created under the coalition government in New South Wales and, as we know, under this government here, at a national level, we have around 1,000 jobs being created every day. Unemployment in New South Wales is lower than the national average, at just 4.6 per cent. In New South Wales, we have the longest construction boom going in New South Wales history and some $5.6 billion of work happening on New South Wales roads. The New South Wales budget is back in surplus and debt was erased last year.

It wasn't always that way in New South Wales. This wasn't always the story in New South Wales, because under the Labor government previously it fell to the bottom of the pack as an economy. Across the country, unemployment was above the national average and debt and deficit reigned in New South Wales under successive Labor premiers.

The opposition leader thinks that one of the architects of the economic vandalism in New South Wales, Kristina Keneally, should now join the Labor Party ranks here in Canberra as the member for Bennelong. It's bad enough that the Leader of the Opposition's first draft pick in the Senate for New South Wales is Senator Dastyari, who remains his first draft pick for the Senate for New South Wales. It's bad enough someone like that has been caught cheating on his country—metaphorically, between the sheets—and what should happen to Senator Dastyari is he should pack his bags and he should get out of the house and he should never come back. That's what a real Leader of the Opposition would do, with that level of betrayal being shown by Senator Dastyari. It's bad enough, if that's the case, but he has chosen as his first pick in Bennelong someone Eddie Obeid chose to be the Premier of New South Wales. Eddie Obeid, by the way, is now setting up the Berrima prison branch of the Labor Party, along with Ian Macdonald, who is establishing another prison branch of the Labor Party. And I suspect all of those have visiting rights, not only to see them in prison but to go to Eddie Obeid's lodge down there in Thredbo—as the member for Watson will remember. Who they have chosen in Bennelong goes to the heart of why they are such a risk to this country and why the people of Bennelong should reject Kristina Keneally and Labor.

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