Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Today Australia's unemployment rate reached its highest level since 2002, when the Prime Minister was the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. South Australia's unemployment rate has now reached 7.3 per cent. Prime Minister, when will good government actually start and the Prime Minister deliver on his promise to build the submarines in South Australia?

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There will be silence for the answer!

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The only government that promised to deliver submarines to South Australia was the former Labor government, and in six years it did nothing.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In six years it did nothing! Kevin Rudd, before the 2007 election, could not have been clearer. He said, 'The subs will be built in South Australia without a tender.' That is what he said: 'They will be built in South Australia without a tender.' And then he sat on his hands for six years.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I raise a point of order on relevance. This is misleading. This Prime Minister sat for—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat! There is no point of order.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I know members opposite do not like being reminded of their comprehensive and monumental failure, but we will remind them of the mess and the chaos that they created, every day—every single day. Seven years ago, eight years ago now, nine years ago now, Kevin Rudd, the former Prime Minister, promised—he absolutely promised categorically—that the subs would be built in South Australia without a tender and then did absolutely nothing for six years.

Members opposite want to know about jobs. Under members opposite, defence jobs in this country declined by 10 per cent. There was a holocaust of jobs in defence industries under members opposite. That is what there was. Jobs, jobs, jobs—I am sorry, and I withdraw, Madam Speaker. There was a decimation.

Mr Burke interjecting—

I have withdrawn already.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Manager of Opposition Business? The Prime Minister has the call.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There was a decimation of jobs in defence industries under members opposite.

What this government will do is ensure that the workers of South Australia have a fair chance to compete for any jobs that are going. That is what they have a right to expect, and that is what they will get under this government.