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

No, that is not correct. I reject that absolutely and unequivocally. Everything we do is to ensure that all Australians and, in particular, low- and middle-income earners, have the best possible opportunity to get ahead. Those people who get hurt the most by lower growth, by weaker growth, are low-income earners—those wanting to get into the jobs market, those wanting to work additional hours, those wanting to move from part-time to full-time. It is well established and Labor is clearly not interested in the evidence. If the economy grows more strongly, it proportionally benefits low-income earners more than anybody else. We want all Australians to have the best possible opportunity to get ahead, and having a stronger economy, having more jobs created into the future, is a very important part of that. And do you know what? When you create more jobs, it actually improves the bargaining power of workers, because if you create more jobs they get higher wages, because if there's less— (Time expired)