Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I concur with some of the sentiments of the member for Macarthur. He is right: youth unemployment is a problem. But where he is wrong is in what we need to do about it. The wording of this MPI gives away Labor's failure. The wording is: 'The Government's failure to provide employment …'. We are not Cuba, North Korea or Venezuela. The government does not create jobs. I know that may be something that is a bit of a newsflash for those on the other side of the House. All that we can do on this side is set up an environment which encourages business and entrepreneurs to take risks to employ someone. The idea of just borrowing and spending and creating more public servants is not the way to create jobs. That is the way to destroy jobs.

Let's have a look at the ABS records to test this theory. The last year that Labor was in government was 2013.

Mr Conroy interjecting—

I hear the member for Shortland over there, so let's have a look at the year 2013. There was no GFC, member for Shortland—nothing. You had all the Labor stimulus. That should have been a great year for creating jobs. What do the ABS numbers say? At the start of 2013 there were 11,439,000 jobs. At the end of the year, after all Labor's great policies of job creation, there were actually 15,000 jobs fewer. The policies of Labor did not create a single job in that year; they destroyed 15,000. Now, compare that to the last full calendar year, 2015. In that calendar year, 285,000 new jobs were created. That is 285,000 new jobs against 15,000 fewer jobs in 2013.

The simple reason is that those opposite do not understand what it takes to create a job. It takes an entrepreneur or employer prepared to take a risk to employ someone. All those opposite have done all the time is make it harder and put more red tape and more burdens on the people who do the employing in this country. To have this MPI today shows their complete hypocrisy. This is a day when the Labor Party want to lower the rate of tax on foreign backpackers to 10 per cent, yet they complain if we want to reduce the tax on small business from 30 per cent to 27½ per cent. So there is a big problem: we cannot reduce the tax rates for small businesses in this country with turnovers of more than $2 million by two per cent, from 30 per cent down to 27½ per cent, yet they want foreign backpackers to be taxed less. And they complain about youth unemployment!

Then there is the hypocrisy of their crying crocodile tears on the 457 visas. We saw the numbers yesterday. When Labor were in power, they were giving out 457 visas to Hungry Jack's, KFC and McDonald's. The heads have gone down; they are very quiet over there now. They gave out 74 457 visas for workers at Hungry Jack's, 88 at KFC and 285 at McDonald's. You come into this chamber and you complain there are no jobs for young Australians, and we find out you have given 285 457 visas for foreign workers to work at Donald's.

Opposition members interjecting—

It should not get any worse. Then, above all else, their plan is used to slug this economy with a 50 per cent renewable energy target. They are quiet again, because we know what the cost of that is. We saw the numbers from Bloomberg finance. They were a $2,000 cost for every man, woman and child in the country. I know the member for Macarthur has great sympathy for the people in his electorate. I ask you, sir: how are the people in your electorate each going to find $2,000 to pay higher electricity bills; how much will that cut in their expenditure with local retailers reduce employment; how will employers that have that cost burden put on them find more jobs?

The coalition is getting on with the job. Our Youth Jobs PaTH program is helping with youth unemployment. The alternative, the Labor Party, is just an absolutely clueless rabble and no idea whatsoever. (Time expired)

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