Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer remind the House of how the Morrison-McCormack government's strong economic management continues to deliver yet more and more jobs for all Australians? Is the Treasurer aware of any alternative policies?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Barker for his question and acknowledge his strong advocacy on behalf of farmers and small business across his electorate. His region, for agricultural production, leads the country.

Those on this side of the House welcome the fact that after the first recession in nearly 30 years the Australian economy is roaring back—an economy that is bigger, an economy that is stronger, an economy that is leading the world. Today we saw unemployment fall for the seventh consecutive month, to 5.1 per cent, smashing market expectations. Participation was up. Underemployment was down. In the month of May, 115,000 new jobs were created; 85 per cent of those new jobs were full-time jobs, and 60 per cent of the 115,000 jobs went to women. Today there are more women in work than ever before. This is what is happening with the Morrison government's plan to create more jobs across the economy; 987,000 jobs have been created since May of last year.

Since the end of JobKeeper at the end of March, 84,000 new jobs have been created. We know that this backs off other significant and positive economic data, including the national accounts, which saw Australia ahead of any advanced economy in the world, with its economy bigger today than it was when the pandemic began. Dwelling investment is up, machinery and equipment investment is up and farm GDP is its strongest in seven years. We saw Standard & Poor's reaffirm Australia's AAA credit rating and Australia being one of only nine countries in the world to have a AAA credit rating from the three leading credit rating agencies.

I'm asked whether there are alternative approaches. We know that those opposite continue to talk down the Australian economy, whingeing and whining and denying the fact that the economic recovery under this Acting Prime Minister and under our Prime Minister continues to grow, from strength to strength. Those opposite have one economic policy, and that is $387 billion of higher taxes—and higher taxes will cost jobs. Under this government we have seen, yet again, the strength and the resilience of the economy, for which more than 25 million— (Time expired)