Zed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

There was. Have a look at the figures. In fact, I am reminded of a recent committee inquiry that we had about income inequality in this country. We were looking at the OECD numbers around real wages growth between 1995 and 2008. Guess who was in charge for almost all of that time? It was the Howard government, from 1996 to 2007. If you look at the table as to how Australia compares, we saw real wages growth across the income spectrum—far higher than virtually all of the OECD. We saw it for the bottom 10 per cent of income earners, we saw it in the middle and we saw it at the top. Shouldn't we be celebrating that, Senator Lines, rather than denying that it happened?

Senator Lines interjecting—

It did happen. Those are the kinds of policies that the coalition pursues and implements. Those are the results. But Senator Cameron and the Labor Party would like to take us back to a different place. They would like to take us back to a time when we saw real wages stagnate, when we saw soaring unemployment, when we saw low productivity, when we saw more and more days lost to industrial disputes. That was the former model. That is the time machine model. That is the Doug Cameron model where the unions are in charge. We reject that model absolutely, because we want to see growth in our employment and we want to see growth in our economy.

I think it is important in this debate to look at the comments of people like Martin Ferguson, because the comments of Martin Ferguson expose just how far back in time the current Labor opposition has gone and just how far back in time they would like to take this country. They would like to take us back to the time before the likes of Martin Ferguson, Bob Hawke and others were implementing changes that would help change our economy—which were supported and built upon by the coalition—but Doug Cameron would like to take us back before that. We are reminded by Martin Ferguson, who said:

It is time that some in today's union leadership recognised that their members' long-term interests are aligned with their long-term job security …

If the likes of Senator Cameron were to take more advice from wise elders within the Labor movement, such as Martin Ferguson—

Senator Bilyk interjecting—

What is it about Martin Ferguson that the Labor Party so despises? Why do they despise him? He was a senior union leader and head of the ACTU. He served loyally and faithfully as a cabinet minister in the Labor government, and now he is giving some advice which the Labor Party rejects. That shows the time machine that Doug Cameron is in. That shows where Doug Cameron and the modern Labor Party would like to take us. They would like to take us back to the pre-1980s industrial relations system. That is not the way to see wages growth and prosperity in this country. (Time expired)