Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

I invite Senator Fielding to enter the real world. Employers do not get out of bed in the morning asking: who can we sack? If Senator Fielding had ever employed anybody in his own enterprise, he would know that the last thing he would want is the dislocation that occurs as a result of somebody leaving his employ. What employers want is long-term employees for the employee’s benefit and, of course, for the benefit of the business. That is what we are finding today with the 360,000 jobs created. Well over 90 per cent of them—I think the figure is about 97 per cent—are in fact full-time jobs because employers want to employ people. They do not go about looking for opportunities to sack people. That is where the Labor mantra that unfortunately Senator Fielding seems to be adopting is so false. (Time expired)