Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to my previous question. Prime Minister, isn’t it the case that the government has claimed its Work Choices policies would lead to higher productivity? Prime Minister, doesn’t page 24 of today’s national accounts show in black and white that market sector productivity slumped by 1.7 per cent in the last six months?

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Pyne interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sturt is warned!

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What else does the Prime Minister have in mind to blame today for this continued slump in productivity?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If the Leader of the Opposition had followed carefully what I have been saying over the last few months about Work Choices, the point I have made is that over the last seven months, despite all the warnings made by the Labor Party, employment has continued to grow, wages have continued and, on top of that, strikes have been at a lower level—the lowest since 1913. Clearly, the benefits of Work Choices, as they flow through the economy, will lead to higher productivity in the years ahead.