Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Hansard source

I am sorry that good news disappoints those opposite, but Australia has more people in full-time work than ever before in our history. What is more, since the carbon-pricing mechanism was introduced, I can report to the member for Moreton, there have been 200 jobs created every day, which casts the lie that somehow the proposals of the government are causing unemployment. However, I do have to report to the member for Moreton some disturbing trends in the monthly labour force figures, and they do in fact refer in particular to his home state of Queensland. The member for Moreton may not be aware yet that since 31 March—about the same time as Campbell Newman became Premier of Queensland—there have been 26,000 jobs lost in Queensland.

Opposition members interjecting—

I will put it another way: 130 jobs are leaving Queensland under LNP rule every day since they were elected.

This is a government that is committed to protecting people's entitlements. That is why today we are doing what the Queensland government and those opposite should be supporting. We are making sure that if the jobs of public sector workers throughout Australia—hardworking workers in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania—are privatised or outsourced, and if then the business is sold to another entity, their terms and conditions are relayed and moved with them, so they retain the same conditions. We are making sure that, when a private sector worker in Australia has their business sold to another entity, they get all the same terms and conditions. We are making sure that, in spite of the second-class status which unfortunately is being visited on them by those opposite and by Campbell Newman and Barry O'Farrell, all Australian workers are treated the same. That is what you get with Labor. We look after the workers; the other side do not.

Mr Christensen interjecting—

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