Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Again, when you look at where we were 12 months ago, and then you look at where we are today, Treasury was modelling at the height of COVID-19 that unemployment could potentially go to 15 per cent. Two million Australians could have been out of work. In May 2021, what we saw was a drop in the unemployment rate to 5.1 per cent. We are seeing an increase in the participation rate. We are seeing an increase in the number of full-time jobs that have been created and, again, we are seeing employers working with the government, utilising the government's policies that we have put in place to ensure that they are prospering, growing and creating more jobs for Australians. But we always acknowledge that people are still doing it tough out there. There are businesses that are still doing it tough, and that is why we continue to put in place those policies—for example, the instant asset write-off. For those businesses that do have the ability to invest, we are saying to them: invest in your business, grow your business and create more jobs for Australians.