Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party, Minister for Jobs) Share this | Hansard source

We have lowered tax rates for small, medium and family sized enterprises, and we have taken important steps to restore law and order to the critically important building and construction sector. This is despite those opposite doing their very best to defend the militant union thugs and their criminal associates. It is thanks to the coalition's economic plan that job growth is at record levels. Over 400,000 jobs were created in 2017, with three-quarters of those jobs being full time. Unemployment is down, women's participation continues to see record highs and, pleasingly, we have seen 95,000 young Australians find employment in 2017-18, the best result in almost 30 years. By contrast, in their final year in office those opposite saw youth employment go backwards, with around 16,000 job losses. We all know that if you cannot get that first job, it is very hard to get the second, third and fourth job.

The member asks about threats. Make no mistake that the Leader of the Opposition would hand the keys to our economy to his comrades in the militant mega-union, the CFMMEU. It is an organisation that proudly boasts about the fact that they have run up $16 million worth of penalties, with $1 million in this financial year alone. It has been described by a Federal Court judge as 'the most recidivist corporate offender in Australian history', with office holders having been convicted of serious offences that include assault, trespass and theft, to name just a few. This Leader of the Opposition would give the militant CFMMEU free rein to abuse, threaten and intimidate workers and small businesses right across the country. There would be no more fines and no more penalties if the Leader of the Opposition had his way. He says he has zero tolerance for union bad behaviour, but, unlike Bob Hawke, he refuses to stand up to the militant extremists within the union movement.

We on this side are getting on with the job of running the economy. We are getting more Australians into more jobs. We are ensuring that they have more money in their pockets. The Leader of the Opposition would put militant unions first and workers and small businesses last.

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