Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer inform the House on how the government is working to create a strong and prosperous economy. What threats are there to boosting jobs and growth?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Durack for the question; I really do. Her electorate is a massive contributor to Australian exports. Over the last few years, we have seen a massive amount of infrastructure investment in her electorate that has helped to facilitate that export growth and help us through some of the toughest days in the wake of the global financial crisis. As I said before, 38,000 new jobs were created in Australia last month—38,000! That is more than 10 times the number of jobs created in one month as were created on average when Labor was in government: 3,600 a month under Labor; 38,000 new jobs created last month under us. You can get that by changing the economic settings away from the protectionist rantings of Labor and away from the focus of Labor on increasing taxes such as the carbon tax and the mining tax and all the other tax changes they made. Obviously, what we have been focused on is getting rid of that regulatory red tape burden faced by so many businesses. Tens of thousands of pages of regulation have been torn up by this government in dedicated repeal days. So when it comes to the recent decision of the Federal Court in relation to the Adani Carmichael Mine in Central Queensland—

Ms MacTiernan interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Perth will cease interjecting

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

the message comes back that a fringe environmental group located 600 kilometres from the mine is able to challenge the construction of the mine in the Federal Court and win. Six hundred kilometres away, an environmental group funded by a fringe group of lawyers is able to stop 10,000 new jobs being created in Australia—

Ms MacTiernan interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Perth, that is your last warning.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and stop the provision of enough energy to power the lights of 100 million impoverished Indians for up to 90 years. You would think the Labor Party would say: 'We want to see the jobs in Australia. We want to see poverty alleviation.' This morning the President of the Labor Party, the member for Port Adelaide, the spokesman for the environment, Mark Butler, came out and said:

… for the life of me I can't see where the particular problem is.

For the life of me, he cannot understand what the problem is: stopping the mine creating 10,000 jobs, stopping a mine that is going to help 100 million impoverished Indians, stopping a mine—

Mr Butler interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Port Adelaide!

Mr Butler interjecting—

The member for Port Adelaide!

Mr Butler interjecting—

The member for Port Adelaide is warned.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

that is going to deliver investment of over $20 billion. Why? Because he is more interested in supporting the Greens and more interested in backing environmental groups than backing the jobs of Australians. Shame, Labor! Shame! (Time expired)

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gilmore will cease interjecting.