Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question and for his interest, like all members on this side of the House, in the economics of opportunity because, on that side, all we see are the politics of envy. When it comes to those opposite, they think the only way you can do better is if you make someone else do worse. This may be what the Leader of the Opposition thinks is a seductive pill for the Australian people, but it is a very poisonous pill for the Australian economy.

What the Australian government is doing is getting on with the job. Since we were elected last year, we have passed 126 separate pieces of legislation implementing the agenda of the Turnbull government—tax cuts for small businesses, cracking down on multinationals, ensuring that child care is more affordable, ensuring the rule of law returns to building sites around this country, that education funding at record levels is passed and that important counter-terrorism laws passing through this parliament. The Turnbull government is getting on with the job. In addition to that, there have been 17 separate pieces of budget legislation passed in the budget sittings, and that means the budget is passing this parliament despite the frustration, opposition, negativity and cynicism of the Leader of the Opposition—the most slippery customer ever to occupy that chair.

The better days ahead are already starting to be evidenced. At the beginning of this year, the Leader of the Opposition said that this year was going to be all about jobs. He asked one question about jobs back in February and today he is asking questions about marriage. His priorities are on display. On this side of the House, we are talking about jobs, national security, keeping Australians safe and ensuring that the economics of opportunity rein in the Australian economy, but nothing more than the politics of envy keeps gripping the Leader of the Opposition and taking him down a very dark and dangerous path if the Australian people were ever to trust him.

So far, 168,000 people have got a job in this country this calendar year alone since the Leader of the Opposition said this year was all about jobs. There are 168,000 new jobs in this country, which is a testimony to the economic policies of this government. Ninety-nine per cent of those jobs this calendar year are full-time jobs, too. If you go back over the last fiscal year, over 240,000 jobs were created—the single largest increase of growth in jobs in a fiscal year since before the global financial crisis. On top of that, over 177,000 jobs are out there advertised today. This government is getting on with the job. That opposition is all about envy.

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