Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is my great pleasure to be able to stand here today and talk about these great figures that have come out today, representing the significant strength that's happening in the economy. There's no doubt that this country is facing some strong headwinds, but we are facing them very, very well as a country. In fact, over 14,500 jobs were created in the month of September, increasing to 311,000 the number of new jobs that have been created this year. This is off the back of a very strong and substantial plan that we're enacting as a responsible government—a government that was elected by the Australian people to implement this plan—and that is what we're doing.

We've seen employment grow at 2.5 per cent, and it remains well above the decade average. Total employment is at a record high, with almost 13 million people employed. We haven't seen this before. It is unprecedented, and it has happened under this Morrison government. We have seen full-time employment increase by 26,200 jobs over the month, with almost nine million Australians in full-time work. These are full-time jobs. These make up 61.5 per cent of the total employment growth over the past year.

The number of unemployed people fell by nearly 25,000 people over the month, with the underemployment rate falling by 0.2 per cent. This is outstanding. This is happening in people's lives. These aren't just figures; we're talking about individuals who have been able to get ahead. They've been able to find work under a strong economy—an economy that is bolstered by good policies and is growing. With the decrease in taxes, Australians are able to keep more of the money that they earn. The effective take-home pay that they are experiencing in their own lives and in their family's income have increased under this government.

We also heard Minister Cash, when she was answering her question, talk about the increase in the number of women in employment. In fact, it's at a record high. Over 6,110,000 women are in work today. This side of the chamber and, I would hope, the entire chamber should be very, very proud of this is happening in our great country.

Senator Green spoke about youth unemployment. I find it interesting that those opposite would speak about this because there is an important program that is in existence in this country right now—it's called Youth Jobs PaTH—which that side of the chamber do not support. In the less than two minutes that I've got left, I just want to unpack this issue. If you are a young person who is unemployed and looking for work, you knock on the door of all sorts of employers asking them to give you a job. But the reality is that most employers will say to you, 'We need people who have experience.' You need to be able to get a foot in the door, but it's very difficult to get a foot in the door when employers are saying that they need people with experience. Youth Jobs PaTH provides people with the opportunity, through an internship program, to be able to get in with an employer. Yet those opposite voted against this program when it was first introduced, and they announced in the election that they would cut this program. Why would they do that? It is because they're beholden to the unions. Labor are beholden to the unions, and they can't see the opportunity that can be created. I would encourage all senators here in this chamber to promote this program. We've seen over 8,000 people go from welfare and into work through this program. It's an opportunity for young people to be able to get ahead and to get off welfare and into work.

We heard about the increase to Newstart, and there's an argument that those are making for that. Well, under this program, participants get an extra $200 a fortnight added to their Newstart payment to assist them with the cost of getting the bus tickets, filling up their cars or buying the uniforms that they'd need to be able to get and keep that job. This is what this government is doing. But those opposite won't accept this, because they're beholden to the unions and they can't see the opportunities. (Time expired)