Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, haven't you seen it all: a third-term government with no agenda, no plan. They've given answers about how to bring forward and get the economy going. Of course, we've been saying it from our side, but now you've got the NAB and the Master Builders Association also saying it. That's on top of the Reserve Bank saying it. But no: they still won't listen. And this is the interesting thing: I don't think they actually know they're in government, because they never expected to get there. So they're just sitting there in dream world: 'Let's just pull out the plan'—of no plan—'Let's come up with a sort of make-believe situation about what we're going to do with the economy and not worry about what all the experts say.' But don't listen to us. Just listen to the experts. They're saying that you have to bring infrastructure forward. That creates jobs. It boosts the economy. We need to do this. Listen to what the experts are saying.

If we actually started creating these jobs in a substantial way, we'd boost the economy. We'd start getting small businesses operating. I'm very proud to say that in my previous life I was a member of the largest small-business organisation in this country—in fact, probably larger than all the small businesses put together—made up of owner-drivers. Those owner-drivers could be working on construction sites, but not to the degree that the government want, because they are in a dream world. They are not listening to anyone; they're still asleep. You are in government; start governing. Start taking steps that make a difference in this economy.

We've seen, in the last six years, this Liberal economic mismanagement leave this economy in a perilous position, in equal parts unstable and unfair. Despite claiming to be superior economic managers, their record on the economy is nothing to crow about. According to the ABS National Accounts, economic growth is at its lowest level since the global financial crisis, with our year-on-year growth just 1.4 per cent for the June quarter of this year. Again, they're in a dream world: 'Oh, no, everything's okay.' Regardless of the fact that the ABS statistics are telling us we're in crisis, our growth is okay! Start listening to the experts. Wake up. Come out of your dream. Wages are growing at one-sixth the pace of profits, the worst wages growth on record. People are doing it tough out there. They're struggling to pay their bills. They're struggling to make it. And, quite clearly, this government hasn't got an answer. These figures are all according to the ABS National Accounts for the June quarter of 2019.

More than 1.8 million Australians are out of work or looking for more work. Household debt has surged to record levels. Don't take my word for it; this is from the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment last month. Wake up. Weak growth like this is an inevitable consequence of a government with a political strategy but no economic plan—a strategy that seems to be all about attacking workers' representatives, whistleblowers, journalists, unemployed people and others who dare to question the vacuum that is this government.

Under Labor, Australia became one of the fastest-growing economies in the OECD. But, under the Liberals, we have dropped down to 20th place. Wake up. Our industrial relations system is the engine of our economy, because, as we know, lifting wages lifts consumption, which lifts growth. We've heard that clearly from the Reserve Bank just recently, with the RBA governor, Philip Lowe, saying:

… my view is that a further pick-up in wages growth is both affordable and desirable.

But what does the government do? It turns around and attacks the voices saying they want wages growth. What is the ensuring integrity bill about? (Time expired)

Question agreed to.