Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, President. But it's no surprise that Senator Cash would say such a thing, because she's a member of the same coalition that said Labor would end the weekend. I don't know about you, but I'm quite looking forward to the weekend, and it's actually going to happen tomorrow. They said that Labor would kill off the backyard barbecue. I had a barbecue at my place last weekend; I don't know about you. And, of course, Labor was going to deliver lamb roasts that cost $100. That hasn't happened either.

Senator Cash is not alone in her blatant scaremongering from that side of the chamber, but it is sad that she has such a dim view of Australian businesses and workers. As I say, 12 months on from that prophecy of doom from Senator Cash, it turns out that Australia is in fact still quite open. The sky hasn't fallen in, and in fact it's quite a nice spring day out there. I'd encourage you to go and experience it. But, when you don't have actual policies, all you've got is hyperbole and overegging.

Senator Cash is fond of saying the devil's always in the detail, so here's the detail. Unemployment under a Labor government is at historic lows, over 560,000 jobs having been created since the Albanese government was elected. Wages are moving again, up by an average of 3.6 per cent compared to 2.1 per cent under— (Time expired)