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

That is a very important supplementary question. Since the changes in March 2006 over 417,000 Australians now have a job—417,000 Australians. You can argue about how many were actually as a result of our changes, but as an absolute minimum some of those commentators who are as harsh as one might expect on us say that over half of them are as a result of the abolition of the unfair dismissal laws. Of course, the Labor Party would reintroduce that regime and see all those people who have gained employment as a result of us taking tough initiatives lose their jobs and lose the opportunities that have been provided to them. That is one of the great achievements of the Howard government—real wages growth, the lowest rate of industrial disputation and a 33-year low in unemployment. That is a huge social dividend for this country. (Time expired)