Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Some milestones have been reached of late. We on this side of parliament have reached a million jobs since coming to office. This is nothing to be sneezed at. This is an incredible achievement. We have created one million jobs, taking 75 per cent out of the unemployment queue and into full-time work. In contrast, those on the other side of this chamber have also reached a milestone—$14 million in fines have landed on the doorstep of the unruly CFMEU.

Those one million jobs have come about not by accident. It's not a mistake that we have managed the economy and have the trust of businesses. Most polls in that space show that we have been prudent economic and fiscal managers. It is because we have got our tax settings right. The instant tax write-off was immediately creating jobs in that small business sector. That's where the bulk of these jobs are being provided. 'Lower taxes, jobs and growth' is our mantra.

In contrast, when it comes to the $40 million in fines for the CFMEU, Justice Heydon from the recent royal commission said that they were the most recidivist offenders in corporate history that he could remember. But don't just take his opinion; let's look at Labor stalwarts and bosses. Former Premier of Queensland Peter Beattie suggested that Labor should no longer take donations from the CFMEU. (Time expired)