Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, my question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer advise the House of the importance of investment and enterprise to our transitioning economy? How important is investment confidence and lower costs in our building and construction industry to drive economic growth and create more jobs?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lyons for his question. Like the other Tasmanians here, he is incredibly energised by the strong growth we are seeing coming out of Tasmania—particularly the growth that has been supported by the trade agreements that have been put in place, which are providing real growth and real opportunities.

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

And that Labor opposed.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister reminds me: those agreements were opposed by the Labor Party for so long. What we have now are Tasmanian members who are seeing what is happening with jobs and growth in their own state.

Our economy is successfully transitioning because of the hard work of those Australians and those Australian businesses that are out there making it happen every single day. That is being reflected again and again in what we are seeing in the confidence and other surveys that are coming forward. The NAB business confidence survey showed that last month it was up three points, conditions were up four points. That is the highest level since 2008. We are seeing that confidence—it was represented again today in the ANZ consumer confidence survey, which showed that consumer confidence was up 10 per cent since last September, and up 23 per cent when they were asked about economic conditions over the next 12 months. So despite the many challenges that we have, people are looking forward and they can see the opportunities.

But they know there needs to be a clear plan that ensures we do not take this transition for granted and we back them in with what they are doing in the economy to make this transition a success. One of the most important things we have to do, and why this parliament was recalled for these votes, is to deal with the issue of the Australian Building and Construction Commission. This issue is about economic productivity. It is about growth and jobs. It is about supporting investment in the construction industry that employs more than one million Australians in around 100,000 businesses.

Now while they see the ABCC as an opportunity to defend unions—not union workers, but unions—not the workers that unions are supposed to represent, but just for them representing the unions and supporting the unions' position—the reason we want to see the ABCC brought back is not just because it has been recommended by two royal commissions, but because it is also important to ensure greater productivity in our economy by removing the lawlessness that we have seen in the building and construction industry. Around two out of every three working days is lost to industrial disputes in the construction industry. With an ABCC building code, infrastructure could be built up to 30 per cent more cheaply than without it. Prior to the creation of the ABCC, the average number of working days lost to industrial disputes in the construction industry was a huge five times the rate of other industries. Once the ABCC was established, that rate fell to just twice the rate of other industries. After the abolition of the ABCC, the rate unfortunately rose again and now sits at four times the rate of other industries. The ABCC was started to bring down costs, and would have achieved a reduction of at least 25 per cent. (Time expired)