Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Hume, for your question. On this side of the chamber, we believe that the best form of welfare is a job.

Senator Cormann interjecting—

In that regard, we are committed, as Senator Cormann well knows, to implementing policies that promote growth, encourage investment, stimulate job creation and, of course, support business. I'm very pleased to advise the chamber that our policies are working.

October labour force figures show that the number of jobs in Australia has increased for the 13th month straight. This is the largest consecutive run of jobs growth since 1994. Since we on this side of the chamber were elected to office, more than 831,000 jobs have been created. That's what the Australian people want to hear. Approximately 200,000 jobs each year are being created because of the Turnbull government's policies. Employment in Australia is currently at a record high of in excess of 12.2 million. At present, under this government, Australia's economy is creating approximately 1,000 jobs per day.

Senator Fierravanti-Wells interjecting—

Quite frankly, Senator Fierravanti-Wells, that's what the people of Bennelong want to hear. They want to hear about a government that is out there creating jobs. There are now 355,700 more Australians in work than a year ago, but, critically, 80 per cent of these jobs are full-time jobs. Here's a statistic the people of Bennelong might like to hear about: the growth in full-time jobs in the first nine months of 2017 represents the largest increase in the first nine months of a calendar year on record, and job creation under this government in the last 12 months is more than four times the jobs growth of the last 12 months of the former Labor government.