Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services) | Hansard source

Let me point out a few facts before the shadow defence minister leaves the chamber and for those listening. This is the man who, in an uncertain time, wants to replace Peter Dutton as Australia's defence minister. Let me give you some facts. When the shadow defence minister was last in office, for six years, do you know how many ships they built under naval shipbuilding in Australia? Zero. No wonder the first defence minister who came in said they couldn't build a canoe, because they'd built no ships. The coalition government, since we've been elected and I've been elected, has built 70 naval ships. It is not the time to go to that shadow defence minister and leave Peter Dutton. It is not the time to go to the opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, from the Prime Minister.

Let me also give those listening some facts on Labor's record in manufacturing. On Labor's watch, the last time they were in government, manufacturing exports fell by 13 per cent. On Labor's watch, last time they were in government, manufacturing business profits—and they need a profit to employ people—fell by 17.4 per cent in their last term of office and over 110,000 apprentices were lost in a single year. That's their record. Don't talk about to us rhetoric! In Labor's term in office, 6,800 manufacturing businesses closed their doors and over 37,300 manufacturing jobs were lost in Labor's last year in office.

Right now we have Labor candidates running around this country with 'Australian made' symbols on their brochures. I mean, really? Look at their record. The coalition government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has seen manufacturing increased by over 20 per cent in the last three years alone. There were 800,000 jobs in manufacturing at the last election in 2019; there are now over one million jobs in manufacturing.

The choice that Australians will be making at the federal election in a few weeks time will be clear. I would say to the Australian people and the people of my electorate that the Australian government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, has a plan for a strong economy, a stronger Australia and unlocking a new generation of high-wage, high-skill, high-tech jobs through manufacturing. We've committed over $925 million to manufacturing projects here in Australia alone, leveraging the confidence of businesses to co-invest over $2.5 billion. And what do we see? We see unemployment at four per cent. Youth unemployment has fallen below 10 per cent.

As the Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services, I'm really proud to be part of a government that has seen more people in work. We've seen welfare dependency fall to 15 per cent; under Labor, it was over 16.5 per cent. That's important because we want Australians to be able to provide for themselves. We want Australians to be able to own their first home. We've got schemes in place for young people not just in Petrie but right through Australia—for 25- to 35-year-olds who are looking to buy their first place, or maybe those even younger. We have schemes like the First Home Super Saver Scheme, which allows you to save at 15 per cent rather than 32.5 per cent. Those opposite voted against it when we put that through the parliament. We have schemes like the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, which the Treasurer will speak more about in the budget tonight.

They're the facts on manufacturing and the statistics that Labor can't escape. They can go on all they want about Australian made and everything else. The reality is they've got a very poor record when it comes to Australian made and buying Australian first.

I'd say to people in my electorate: 'Please purchase Australian made. Please purchase it. Please go out there and do that.' We've got a modern manufacturing fund that is supporting more manufacturing jobs in the country. In my own electorate, we've seen local businesses like Kingswood Cabinets basically triple their turnover in the time that we've been in government. In the last seven or eight years, they've tripled their turnover. They're hiring more apprentices, thanks to the boosting apprenticeships scheme. We've got businesses like Brisbane Isuzu, who, for over 20 years, have proudly powered other local businesses and manufacturers with their Isuzu trucks in Brisbane, located in my electorate. They have strong local manufacturing opportunities and strong balance sheets, and they're family owned. There are businesses like Big Rigs, who manufacture as well for the back of those trucks. The coalition has jobs' and Australians' backs when it comes to manufacturing. (Time expired)

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