Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

That is a shocking record, as indicated by Minister Brandis. That was the legacy that they left. Not only that; it was a $96 billion debt. That is what the Australian Labor government left this nation. In the 11 years of stewardship under Prime Minister Howard, Treasurer Costello and their team, the government have had the foresight to plan for the long term. That foresight said: ‘Let’s pay down that debt and get those interest rates and interest payments down.’ That is exactly what has happened. Those $96 billion are 96 billion reasons why I am proud to be on this side with the Howard government. We now have record low inflation, record low unemployment, record jobs growth, record GDP support and good figures for the long term with respect to GDP growth.

In terms of unemployment, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the latest figures today. What do they say? This addresses the issue of productivity—that is, how many Australians are actually in employment; how many actually have a job? You will see that the ABS has said that we now have 4.4 per cent unemployment. That is effective as at April 2007. That is the lowest unemployment rate since November 1974. It underpins the fact that the Howard government is being a strong steward of our economy and in providing job prospects for all Australians. An impressive 326,200 jobs have been created since March 2006—after a year under our new industrial relations regime. What did the Labor Party say about jobs?