Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer advise the House how the National Energy Guarantee provides certainty for hardworking Australians and businesses? How does the government's commitment to guarantee affordable and reliable energy support business investment and secure better days ahead for our economy?

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

I thank the member for Goldstein. Like all of us on this side, we remain optimistic about the Australian economy and the better days ahead that we are focused on securing. That is the emerging national and international consensus. The better days ahead are coming true. We're seeing it in the global economy as the global economy turns, and we're seeing it in the jobs figures that were released last week. Jobs growth in Australia today is now running at more than three per cent a year. That is 15 times the rate it was growing under the Labor Party back in 2013, when they left office. We have also just experienced the strongest growth in full-time jobs in a 12-month period in the 40 years of the labour force survey—some 316,000 full-time jobs created in a 12-month period. With 20,000 jobs created in September it was the 12th consecutive month of jobs growth, and that is the longest consecutive run of monthly jobs growth in 23 years.

I see that as evidence of better days emerging ahead, as we talked about in May, but those opposite can't even bring themselves to congratulate Australian businesses and the Australians that went out there and got a job in the last 12 months. They prefer to talk down the economy and look for every single black cloud on the horizon, rather than seeing that, as Deloitte said today, the clouds are breaking apart for our economy and we can welcome that. Chris Richardson from Deloitte said today that Australian jobs growth was a thing of beauty. That's what he said. He has gone on to reinforce the need to increase business investment to ensure Australian jobs growth remains strong and leads to higher wages. We take that seriously. That's why our Enterprise Tax Plan has already given tax cuts to businesses with up to $50 million in turnover, covering more than half the Australian labour force. The Labor Party not only remains opposed to those tax cuts, which they will reverse if they are elected—taking tax cuts away from small business—but also stands in the way of the tax cuts that will assist the other half of the labour force by ensuring greater investment in our economy through business.

But certainty is required for business investment, and that is what the National Energy Guarantee is providing. The National Energy Guarantee provides certainty for businesses to invest in greater energy supply to ensure more affordable and more reliable energy for Australian businesses so they can continue to invest in their businesses and create even more Australian jobs. The National Energy Guarantee means more and better paid jobs—and Labor remain opposed.