John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Jobs, Industrial Relations and Women. Will the minister update the House on how the government is helping more Australians to get a job? What are the risks and what is at stake if a different approach is adopted?

Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party, Minister for Jobs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bennelong for his question. He, like all of the members on this side of the chamber, stands for jobs—for more jobs for millions of Australians. It was a great pleasure to join him in his electorate only the other week to visit the hard-working businesses in Macquarie Park that are employing so many Australians. He is proud of our record since coming to office: the creation of the economic conditions that have seen more than 1.1 million Australians employed as a result—new jobs created. And under this government there are more people in work than ever before and more women in work than ever before. We have seen record levels of young people employed in this last financial year alone—100,000 jobs created. And there are more and more older Australians who are wanting to remain engaged in the workforce. Thanks to the new job creation that we are seeing, more and more of them have the opportunity to do so.

Under those opposite, we would see, with their economic mismanagement, a great risk to job creation in this country. Those opposite couldn't be trusted to run a bath, let alone an economy! When they were last in office unemployment was going backwards. Full-time employment for women was going backwards. And I remind the House that they have not delivered a surplus in this millennium. So, as we know, the Leader of the Opposition has completely given up on having sensible economic management. He is completely and utterly under the thumb of militant union bosses and their extremist demands.

Already, he has said he will get rid of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, which is providing protection for small and family businesses and their workers right across the country. This, of course, is the dream of militant union bosses—like John Setka, who has already 59 convictions against his name, including convictions for assaulting police officers. But he is not done yet. As we see revealed in The Australian today, he will also shut down industries at a time. After years of industrial peace, the opposition leader wants to usher in industrial anarchy, and it will mean seeing our cities grind to a halt and gridlock on our roads. Hospital beds will close. Surgeries will be cancelled. Parents will not be able to go to work because the schools will be closed and their childcare centres will be closed. He wants to return us to the industrial disputation of the 1970s, and no-one wants to— (Time expired)