Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Those opposite would have you believe that they are in a position to criticise the government about the economy, that they are in a position to comment on the number of jobs being created in this country. The fact is that it is our government, the Morrison government, that has the budget back in black, for the first time in 11 years. We've finally cleaned up the mess left behind by the Labor Party and we have no intention of taking lectures from a party that consistently drives this country into deficit.

Despite the global economic landscape, Australia is in its 28th consecutive year of economic growth. The economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the June quarter, when our comparable economies globally recorded negative growth. Our economy is not immune to conditions beyond our borders, which have had a significant impact on countries such as Germany, the UK and Singapore. We have instead continued to see growth stronger than the OECD average. In fact, Australia is one of 10 countries to have a AAA credit rating.

We have already taken steps to encourage further economic growth. In the first week of this parliament, we passed personal income tax cuts to put more money back into the pockets of more than 10 million taxpayers, 4.5 million of whom receive the full $1,080 tax relief. In the last parliament, it was our government that passed tax cuts for small and medium sized businesses, as well as increasing the instant asset write-off of $30,000. It is our government that is investing $100 billion into infrastructure projects nationally, including improved local roads, such as Homebush Bay Drive in my electorate of Reid, or delivering WestConnex to ease congestion. I commend the Prime Minister for his work with the state premiers to ensure that these infrastructure projects are delivered as quickly as possible. It is our government that has delivered new trade agreements with Indonesia, Peru and Hong Kong to provide new opportunities for businesses in industries including agriculture, manufacturing, mining, education, tourism and financial services.

Our government is committed to providing more opportunities for Australians to get into work. Last financial year, over 300,000 additional jobs were created, with employment growing by 2.6 per cent. As of April this year, more than 1.3 million more Australians are in jobs since the government was elected. Nearly 60 per cent of these have been full-time jobs. The unemployment rate is now 5.2 per cent. When Labor left office, the unemployment was 5.7 per cent and rising. Underemployment also fell slightly from 8.5 per cent to 8.3 per cent in August. Not only are we creating jobs but wages are continuing to grow with 2.3 per cent growth recorded in the last year to June 2019. This is relatively stable growth.

The coalition is firmly focused on getting on with the job of providing the things that Australians care about—a strong economy, opportunities and jobs, and key infrastructure to get them home sooner and safer. While in office, the Labor Party demonstrated their ineptitude for economic management and left this country with a fiscal mess, and we are only now recovering from it. In the face of challenging global conditions, only the coalition government can be trusted to continue to deliver economic growth, more jobs and lower taxes while the Labor Party can be trusted to deliver debt and higher taxes.

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