Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

By any measure, the economy in Australia in 2011 is going well. We have unemployment levels below five per cent. We have fantastic growth, in excess of four per cent per annum. We have record levels of investment going into the mining industry and we have a set of books and budget figures which would be the envy of most treasurers throughout the Western world. But it is also true that there are challenges that come with the economy going at full speed, as it is at the moment. The first challenge is that a growing economy needs a growing workforce. The second challenge is that, despite this wealth and despite the advantages of growth, there are many throughout Australia who are quite simply missing out. That is why this 2011 budget is clearly focused on both of these challenges. It is great news for people in electorates such as mine which have had unemployment levels stubbornly above the national average for far too long.

The $304 million package which is targeted at 10 priority regions throughout the country, including my electorate of Throsby in New South Wales, will assist the 1,950 long-term unemployed people in my electorate and provide assistance to teenage parents, 80 per cent of whom, because of their situation, have not had the benefit of finishing high school. We know that if we are to break the cycle of disadvantage we have to ensure that these young women have the opportunity available to them to complete a high school education. That is why, as a part of this budget and this program that will be focused on my electorate of Throsby, we are providing a package of assistance to these young women.

The assistance includes providing quality child care. It includes providing tailored case management facilities. It includes assisting them in financial and other ways, such as with counselling, so that they can re-engage with the education system. And yes, it does also include having some sanctions if there are no good reasons provided by the clients for not engaging and participating in a return to education plan. I think this is a program that all Labor members, and indeed all members of this House, should be proud of because it says that as the economy is booming we should not leave anyone behind. (Time expired)

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the impact of last night's budget on the life of ordinary Gold Coasters and, in particular, the fact that we have seen once again a squandered opportunity by the Labor Party to do what is in the best interests of Gold Coasters and especially Gold Coast families. Under the coalition, constituents in my electorate of Moncrieff were faring much better than the Australian average. We had unemployment down to a 33 year record low. The Gold Coast, which traditionally has had above national average levels of unemployment, was below the national average. Now, under the reckless economic management of the Labor Party, places like the Gold Coast which do not have a resources base but rely on service industries are really struggling.

Thanks to this government's economic recklessness, we have now seen the Australian dollar reach incredible new heights with absolutely no additional support either in last night's budget or in previous years budgets for Australia's tourism industry—the single biggest employer of people in my electorate. This is a government that has turned its back on Gold Coasters and on ordinary Australians. This is a government that has delivered a new record $107 billion of net debt, which means that ordinary Australians, including those in my electorate, are now faced with $4,500 of debt for each and every man, woman and child in this country.

That is the legacy of this Labor Party. That is the legacy of a government which last night presided over a budget deficit that blew out to nearly $50 billion and that next year is forecast to be $22 billion. If that is good economic stewardship, if that is about making the hard decisions, if that is the responsibility of the government that has delivered a failed BER and is now about to do the whole thing again with rorts through the so-called set-top boxes for pensioners scheme then it is little wonder that Gold Coasters have lost faith in this government. At the end of the day, Gold Coasters know the truth about the Australian Labor Party. They took good economic stewardship and $70 billion in savings from a coalition government that was planning for the future and they spent every last dollar. But then they went beyond it. They are borrowing $135 million a day to spend more money on reckless projects that they can trot around their electorates to feel good about themselves while they mortgage the future of young Australians. It will be the young Australians, the Australians of tomorrow, who will have to pay off the debt of the Labor Party.

It is extraordinary that Labor members opposite chant the mantra, 'Jobs', when under the coalition, which had record surpluses, we got a 33-year record low in unemployment. The Labor Party presides over 8.1 per cent unemployment in my electorate. So, please, Labor members, do not lecture us about jobs when you have doubled the national— (Time expired)