Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I do not accept the premise of the question. To suggest that the figures are wrong is simply incorrect. As I have said, we will update the figures. Obviously the figures for jobs would have to be updated because we have seen a continued improvement in full-time jobs in the figures outlined today, which brings to 750,000 the number of jobs created in Australia since November 2007, since this government came into power. We on this side have worked to ensure that we have protected employment and economic growth through the global financial crisis. If we followed the advice of those opposite, including Senator Cormann, 200,000 Australians would have been added to the unemployment queues. We have created 750,000 jobs on this side—that includes the growth in full-time jobs in the last figures announced today—when those on the other side would have added 200,000 unemployed.