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

I repeat what I said when I came to the dispatch box, in direct response to the member's question: no, that is not what it means. I think I've addressed the member's question very clearly. What I'm saying is: if you want higher wages in this country you need a strong economy and strong businesses. You need a strong economy which has strong trading arrangements with the rest of the world, which we've been able to secure; some 76.1 per cent of our trade is supported by the strong trade policies this government has been able to put in place. You get higher wages when you invest in the skills development of Australians, and we have record levels of trade apprentices and trade training—220,000 of them getting better skills, which means they can get better jobs and better wages. That's what we're investing in.

You get a stronger economy when you invest $110 billion in building the infrastructure that Australia needs. The Leader of the Opposition likes to talk a lot about his time as transport minister. He couldn't even build an airport he said he wanted to build. He wants to buy an airline but he doesn't want to build an airport.

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