Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today's MPI reads:

The decisions of the Abbott Government that have led to the loss of more than 50,000 jobs in the past five months.

It seems to me that probably the first thing we need to do is establish the validity of such a comment. What facts is this based on? At this stage, we have no idea what the change in the employment numbers is going to be over the forward period. If we look at the figures that are currently around, for the last five months, there is every reason to think that particular statement is based entirely on political motives and has nothing to do with the facts. If I wanted to sit here and list the reasons I refute it, I would probably need about three hours. I contest that this statement is a false, baseless and cheap political stunt.

Let us start with the facts. Fact: since September 2013, employment has fallen by 5,500 jobs, not 50,000. Fact: market expectations are that the January employment figures will see an increase in employment of 15,000 jobs—although I do accept that we do not know until we see the actual figures; they are sometimes subject to some level of fluctuation and uncertainty. Fact: Labor's pre-election economic statement budgeted for an increase in the unemployment rate to 6.25 per cent. Fact: the December unemployment rate was 5.8 per cent. Fact: under Labor, one manufacturing job was lost every19 minutes. The basic fact underlying all this is the overregulated, overtaxed environment that has been created over the last period of time, and that is the main reason for the lack of business confidence and why we are seeing, as a consequence, the unsatisfactory employment figures. We admit that any fall in employment is an unsatisfactory result. But these figures are not a reflection of the last couple of months. Anybody sitting opposite, even those who are shaking their heads, has to admit that there is a lag in the marketplace. Anybody who suggests that any employment losses have occurred because of a knee-jerk reaction to something that happened yesterday is living entirely in fairyland.

Let us look at some of the policy examples that have had a major impact on business and of course jobs. Let us look at the minerals resource rent tax. In my home state of South Australia, the home state of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, who is at the table, BHP Billiton made the decision last year not to continue with the expansion of their mine at Roxby Downs. At the time they certainly did not blame the minerals resource rent tax, but it has to be the combination of the environment that they found themselves in and the sovereign risk that this country is exposed to—