Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

Again, under Labor there was rising unemployment and a rapidly deteriorating budget position. Today the big story under our government is more than 1.5 million new jobs.

When we promised in the lead-up to the 2013 election that we would create a million new jobs in the economy in our first five years in government, the Labor Party sneered at us. They said that it couldn't be done, that it was a pipedream. But, of course, we have exceeded and delivered on that commitment before time.

If you look at the performance of our economy in an international context, our economy continues to grow, wages continue to grow faster than inflation, employment growth is strong and the participation rate is the highest it's ever been—in particular, the participation rate among women and older Australians. Yes, we're facing challenges. Yes, we're facing headwinds. But we are in a much stronger position than we would have been under Labor's disastrous, high-taxing— (Time expired)