Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I described the member's question as misrepresentation based on misrepresentation, with the biggest misrepresentation in it, the most important misrepresentation, being the misrepresentation about Australian jobs. Since we made the announcement about a carbon pricing scheme, 73,500 jobs have been created in our economy. That is what is happening with jobs in our nation: the number of jobs is going up.

Now, that does not mean that, even as the number of jobs within our nation continues to rise, there are not some businesses, there are not some projects, that are under pressure in the current economic circumstances. We have a high Australian dollar. We have seen some falls in commodity prices. Businesses, obviously, make commercial decisions—that happens in our economy every day—and those commercial decisions can really impact on Australian families. My heart always goes out to anyone who has lost their job—

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