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

I thank the member for his question, and I thank him for his contribution to the Brisbane City Council. He would know, as a former treasurer of that council, how important it is to manage the nation's finances well. Through this pandemic Australia has retained our AAA credit rating, having one of the strongest economies to emerge through this pandemic and set Australia up for the future. That is demonstrated by the fact that unemployment has fallen to 4.2 per cent. Our goal is to achieve unemployment below four per cent, with a 3 in front of it, this year—something that has not been achieved in this country for some 50 years. People getting into jobs changes lives. That's why it's such an important part and the focus of our national economic plan—1. 7 million jobs have been created under this government. The unemployment rate for young people has fallen to less than 10 per cent, the lowest rate since 2008. And one million more women are in jobs as a result of the economic policies that have been pursued and the strong financial management by this government.

That national economic plan is about lowering taxes, cutting red tape and, secondly, investing in the skills and the infrastructure that Australia needs to grow—skills which now see 220,000 trade apprentices in training, the highest level in Australia's recorded economic history since 1963. There is affordable, reliable energy, where we hit our targets for emissions reduction through technology, not the taxation approach favoured by those opposite—adopting emissions reduction targets that will cost jobs and put up electricity prices. Under our record, electricity prices have fallen by eight per cent over the last two years. Under the Labor Party they went up by more than 100 per cent.

Australia will be a top-10 digital economy by the year 2030 and we will have a sovereign manufacturing capability in this country. We remember that under the Labor Party one in eight manufacturing jobs were lost. But a strong economy allows you to stand up for Australia and for our values in a world where we face foreign interference and coercion. You will not find our government looking to appease those who would seek to coerce Australia. The leader of the Labor Party said he's happy to trade away and ask China—to accept some and stand by some of their coercion.

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