Annette Ellis (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister update the House on today’s unemployment figures and the need for sustained global efforts to ensure governments are supporting jobs during the worst global recession in 75 years?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Canberra for her question. I inform the House today of the labour force data which has just been released for the month of August, which shows that the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8 per cent. This was better than market expectations, where the range was between 5.9 and 6.2. However, if we look further at the data, we also see that there remain real causes for concern for the future.

Employment itself fell by some 27,100, and this was because we saw a fall in full-time employment of 30,800, while part-time employment rose by 3,800. This reflects a theme over recent months. Furthermore, the participation rate decreased by 0.3 per cent to 65.1 per cent. The participation rate has now begun to fall from the peak of 65.5 that we had in March of this year. A further cause for concern is that the proportion of employed persons who want or are available to work more hours is now 7.8 per cent. This is the highest on record, the records going back some 31 years. What those three elements from the labour force data indicate is that Australia is not out of the woods yet when it comes to unemployment. If you visited various regions of Australia as I have done recently—and I see the member for Leichhardt there, from Far North Queensland—many regions in Australia are doing it particularly tough when it comes to the impact of the global economic recession on those regional economies.

When you look at Australia’s unemployment data, we are doing better than most of the rest of the world, and I draw the House’s attention to the fact that most recently we have had unemployment rates in the United States of 9.7 per cent, in the United Kingdom of 7.8 per cent, in Japan of 5.7 per cent, in Canada of 8.7 per cent, in France of 9.5 per cent, in Germany of 8.3 per cent and in Italy of 7.3 per cent—the G7 average being some 8.2 per cent, the OECD average being some 8.3 per cent and Australia remaining at 5.8 per cent. This means that our unemployment rate, when compared with the major advanced economies, is currently the second lowest after Japan at 5.7 per cent.

But these are no grounds for complacency whatsoever. The fact, however, that Australia is doing better than most of the other economies is not a product of accident. It is the product of two factors: early, strong and decisive action on the part of the Australian government through our national stimulus strategy through the nation building for recovery plan and the magnificent performance of Australian business, small business and workers across the Australian economy up against the most difficult global economic circumstances they have faced in three-quarters of a century.

The nation building for recovery plan is about two things: supporting jobs, small business and apprenticeships today, while investing in the infrastructure we need for tomorrow. That is why we are currently investing in libraries, science centres, language centres, universities, TAFES and university and other research institutions. That is why we are investing in the National Broadband Network. That is why we are investing in rail, road and ports right across the country. In fact, I am advised by the Coordinator-General that currently we have 36,544 projects approved across Australia under the nation building for recovery plan; 16,897 of these projects have commenced and 670 have already been completed. This has been a massive effort in partnership with the private sector to support the economy.

If the government had instead adopted the policy of the Liberal and National parties which is not to have engaged in economic stimulus in the Australian economy, Treasury have advised us that right now Australia would be in the depths of recession. Furthermore, they have advised us that our unemployment rate would have reached 10 per cent. That is the bottom line here. I say to those opposite that the nation building for recovery plan, again based on Treasury’s advice, is that it is supporting employment of some 210,000 extra positions in the Australian economy than would otherwise be the case.

Where does all this come together? It comes together in the fact that Australia is now the fastest growing of the major advanced economies. Secondly, we have the second lowest unemployment; thirdly, the lowest debt; and, fourthly, the lowest deficit. Fifthly, we are the only country so far not to have gone into recession. That is the government’s strategy. It is worth reflecting, however, on what the opposition strategy is particularly when it comes to national and global responses.

We know what their record is on the economy. We know that this is a party that when in government was the highest taxing government in Australia’s history. We know that when they were in government they failed to produce any savings whatsoever in their last budget in contrast to the $54 billion worth of savings which have been registered in this government’s first two budgets. We also know they were government of waste and extravagance as we have seen through the regional rorts program, and they are led by a Leader of the Opposition who is rainmaker himself—that $10 million allocation that has yet to be fully explained to the Australian people. We also know that they were a government which gave us 10 interest rate rises in a row despite having promised the Australian people they would keep interest rates at record lows. But most spectacularly, they were a government which squandered the opportunities delivered to them by the global resources boom and failed to invest in skills and infrastructure to set Australia up for the future despite receiving 20 warnings from the Reserve Bank to lift their game.

When we go to the future, what is their plan to deal with this global economic recession now? It seems to be in about three points: the first is sit on your hands and do nothing; the second is to hope the economy will tank so they can take political advantage out of unemployment going up; and the third is to run a fear campaign on debt and deficit despite the fact that we are running the lowest debt and deficit of the major advanced economies and despite the fact that, based on whatever their last statement was, they seem to support 90 to 95 per cent of the borrowings which this government has already indicated.

It is all a political strategy. It is not an economic strategy, which is why they stand alone without any support across the rest of the world or across Australia from any credible institution about their script for the economy now. But there is more. Yesterday we heard from the brains trust of the Liberal Party backbench—the member for Fadden. Yesterday afternoon we heard from the brains trust of the Liberal Party frontbench—the member for North Sydney—who has divined the real cause of the global economic malaise. During question time yesterday when various members were engaged in the debate, the member for North Sydney was twittering. He said on his twitter:

listening to swan on the G20 and i am wondering how many finance ministers he met are left wing

Then he went on to say in response to a question from Sky News:

I think there is a centre-left movement across the world that is trying to run the line that government should be the centre of everything in our lives,

He is talking about the G20 here, so move over the fake moon landing, move over the grassy knoll and move over the UFO sightings at Area 51 because we have a new global conspiracy: it is called the G20.

The member for North Sydney forgets the fact that the G20 was established a decade ago by that other leading leftist in this place—partly, at least—the member for Higgins, at a finance ministers’ meeting, and I have referred to that fact here. This G20 meeting of finance ministers was elevated to summit level by that other leading global leftist George W Bush and now the G20 is populated by those other major global leftists, Sarkozy the Socialist, Berlusconi the Bolshevik, obviously, and Merkel—she must be a Menshevik, I suppose. What planet are you on, Joe? He then went one further though, and in answer to the question from David Speers, ‘So Barack Obama, Gordon Brown should not be following the strategies they are following?’ the member for North Sydney said:

I think Americans are changing their opinion at a rapid rate of Barack Obama.

Then he went on—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. The Prime Minister has now been speaking for 10 minutes. I ask you how that fits with your admonition that ministers should try and keep their answers short and relevant to the question, and how you expect the opposition to respond when they have to put up with a 10-minute answer from the Prime Minister?

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! As I have indicated, there is nothing in the standing orders about length of answers. I am not sure of the admonition that the member for Sturt was referring to. I might be guilty of the thought-crime. But the Prime Minister is, in fact, being relevant to the question, and the Prime Minister has the call.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Hockey interjecting

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note the invitation from the member for North Sydney to keep going. In the G20 list I read before, of all those global leftists, I forgot to mention that leading global leftist, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. But I am sure he is part of Joe’s new conspiracy theory.

Then David Speers asked the member for North Sydney: ‘So you think he’—President Obama—‘went too far?’ ‘Well, maybe I can’t claim to be an expert on the US economy, but what I do know is that the American people are starting to question Barack Obama’s management of the US economy.’ What is it about the Liberals and President Obama? There they were, under John Howard, saying that his election would be a victory for al-Qaeda. Now we see, on the economy, that they are saying it is a victory for global socialism. What is it about the obsession on the part of the Liberal Party when it comes to US President Obama and the Democrats? What we have with the Liberal Party today is a party which is out of touch, out of control and, can I say, out on their own.