Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Bushby for that supplementary question. The government is very optimistic about 2015 and what it will bring for Australia. We are very optimistic. Yes, we will continue to fight global economic headwinds and we will continue having to work to put Australia in the strongest possible position for the future by improving international competitiveness, bringing down the cost of doing business and making sure that businesses across Australia can employ more Australians. That is what we are focused on.

But if you look at the indicators for 2015, job advertisement levels—as measured by the ANZ—are at their highest levels in over two years, with job ads growing a healthy 13.6 per cent through the year. The Dun and Bradstreet business expectation survey that was released on 3 February found that the outlook on employment is the most positive it has been for 10 years. All we needed in Australia is for the Labor Party to stop playing politics and to start putting the national interest ahead of their perceived political self-interest.