Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for McMillan for his question. I can inform him that in April the labour force figures showed that the unemployment rate in Australia was 5.1 per cent, marginally up from what it was in March. While part-time employment fell in the month of April by 25,900, full-time employment increased in April by 22,700. So, although we lost 25,000-odd part-time jobs, we gained 22,000-odd full-time jobs. As a consequence, although the unemployment rate rose slightly to 5.1 per cent it is still at 28- or 29-year lows.

How does this compare with previous unemployment rates in Australia? I would like to take the House back to May 1993, when the unemployment rate—and bear in mind that today it is 5.1 per cent—under a Labor government was 10.6 per cent. The then Labor government commissioned a caucus committee, chaired by the member for Lilley, to come up with ideas as to how to solve unemployment—which was then at 10.6 per cent. The chair of the caucus committee, the member for Lilley, came up with a great idea for reducing unemployment. His idea was to drop the age qualification for the age pension from 65 to 60 and reclassify everybody over 60 as retired rather than unemployed. He told the AM program on 31 May 1993 that the pension age could be lowered to 60 and they could be put on provisional age pensions. He said it was cruel for men aged 60 to 65—

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