John Madigan (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on this matter of public importance. I generally do not like taking pot shots at the government—this one or the previous one. However, I think the MPI provides some clear evidence that neither this government nor the last have been doing all they could to increase employment in Australia.

A country is what a country makes and, under this government and the previous one, we have seen the destruction of the car industry, the shipbuilding industry sail into the valley of death and our fuel security evaporate. We have seen a strong lack of commitment by government to buy Australian-made products and, in turn, support local jobs. We have seen a complete unwillingness by governments to act decisively and to plan ahead. If there is something that this government and the previous government are good at talking about, it is jobs generated by their policies, not how many jobs were lost as a result of their policies. Unemployment in this country is far too high and I fear that in coming years it may even be higher. It is a national shame that when talking about nation-building projects we continually refer to such things as rolling out fibre optic cable under the ground. We do not talk about building new dams, helping our innovative companies and Australian manufacturers and farmers to really thrive in Australia and in overseas markets. Both sides of parliament enjoy talking about R&D, but actions speak louder than words.

In my closing remarks today, I would like to say that Australia is a smart country, but it is not necessarily a lucky country. Australia is where it is today because of the vision and hard work of Australians past and present. We need to make sure that as a parliament we nurture our manufacturers and our farmers and, in turn, create quality jobs for all Australians.