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

I thank Senator Hume for that question. What the release of the quarterly National Accounts data shows is that the Turnbull government's plan for jobs and growth is working—that it is working. Growth in the September quarter was 0.6 per cent, following an increase of 0.9 per cent in the June quarter, which means that growth over the year has accelerated from 1.9 per cent to 2.8 per cent, through the year, which is above the OECD average and puts Australia back up towards the top of the pack for major advanced economies around the world and, incidentally, is also broadly in line—in fact, slightly better than anticipated at budget time. New private business investment grew for the fourth consecutive quarter, rising two per cent to be 7½ per cent higher than a year ago. This is the strongest through-the-year growth since December 2012. Strength in new business investment was led by new engineering construction, which expanded to 6.3 per cent in the quarter and is 12.7 per cent higher through the year.

Employee salaries and wages increased 1.2 per cent in the quarter to be three per cent higher through the year which, of course, is also a positive outcome, and this positive outcome on wages and salaries has been driven by strong job creation, with more than 1,000 jobs a day created in the September quarter. Under the Turnbull government, of course, Australia is shaping up to have a record year for jobs. There are now 355,700 more Australians in work than a year ago; more than 80 per cent of these new jobs are full-time jobs. These results are further evidence that our economy is continuing to grow and strengthen under the coalition's plan for jobs and growth, and what it shows is the superior outcomes that can be achieved with a pro-business, pro-growth, pro-investment, pro-jobs policy agenda, as opposed to the anti-business, anti-jobs agenda from the opposition.