Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on the government's initiatives to boost workforce participation, encourage business investment and innovation, and deliver Australia the infrastructure of the 21st century? Why are these policies vital for generating jobs and growth for all of Australia?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question. The only way in which we can be assured of our children and grandchildren having good, well-paying jobs in the future is if we are more innovative, more productive, more competitive, more technologically advanced and sophisticated. Those are vital requirements for success in the 21st century. And, to build on the 300,000 new jobs created last year, we need to be more innovative and more agile than we have been to date. Our economy is changing all the time. The global environment is changing. It is full of opportunities, but we have to seize them and we have to be innovative to do so.

So, in December, we unveiled our $1.1 billion National Innovation and Science Agenda. It will encourage greater cooperation between researchers and industry. It will ensure that great ideas get to market sooner. It will support enterprising start-ups. That followed on a $5½ billion package for small business that backed small business to grow their enterprises and employ more Australians.

We also need to boost workforce participation, leveraging our greatest asset, our most valuable capital: our human capital. And so our $3.2 billion childcare subsidy makes it easier for parents, particularly those on low incomes, to get back into work. Participation by women in full-time work is right now at an all-time high, and we have to do all we can to ensure that as many women as possible are able to bring their talents to our workplaces.

We need to ensure we have a more competitive economy, and that is why we are adopting the recommendations of the Harper review to free up domestic markets, delivering an effective and efficient financial system.

Ms Butler interjecting—

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

The member for Griffith!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia is part of the most exciting, rapidly developing part of the world—here in the Asia-Pacific. This is where the action is.

Ms Butler interjecting—

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

The member for Griffith!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And through the efforts of the Minister for Trade and Investment we have opened up unprecedented access for Australian businesses with free trade agreements with Japan, Korea, China and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, of which we spoke only yesterday. In addition to that, a $50 billion infrastructure package brings enormous economic and social benefits, improving liveability in our cities, reducing travel times and boosting productivity. Right across the board, every lever of this government is pulling in the direction of growth and jobs. That is our commitment; that is our future.