George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I think it is a trite thing to say. I am sure I did say it, but if you want to get a sense of the health of the economy, you look at the economic indicators. I think we would all agree on that. So let me acquaint you with an economic indicator, Senator Farrell: in the past 12 months, on this government's watch, more than 195,000 new jobs have been created. In the last year of the Labor government, between September 2012 and September 2013, only 81,800 new jobs were created. This government has been responsible for more than twice the rate—2½ times the rate—of job growth in the last year than the last year in which you had the stewardship of the economy. Nevertheless, let me come back to the main point that I make to you: we need to continue the reform. We need the enterprise tax plan. We need the industrial reforms that have been championed by my friend Senator Cash. We need to continue that reform so we do not fall into the doldrums. (Time expired)