Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, I thought when we came back this week that those opposite might have actually taken heed of what happened here in this parliament last Thursday and Friday with the national Jobs and Skills Summit. It obviously hurts them greatly to see business, unions, NGOs and people who are community leaders coming together in the same room, talking about the issues that matter to the Australian people. Of course, those opposite don't want to see things change, because what they like is to see chaos and division within the community. They don't like to see the business community and small businesses talking and working with the union movement, because that isn't part of their script.

The issues have been made known. We went to the election saying that we would have a jobs summit, because it's not just this federal government's responsibility to come up with all the ideas and solutions going forward. There needs to be a collective acknowledgement of what the issues are and whether or not we've got the answers moving forward. One of the things that the previous government, those in opposition, had as part of their economic plan was to have stagnant wages, so they said time and time again that that was part of their plan. The reality is stagnant wages do have an impact on small businesses, which is what this question that was asked went to, small businesses and the cost of living. Yes, there is higher inflation, and gee, golly, gosh we've been in government now for about 112 days and we're supposed to forget the last nine years of the Turnbull, Abbott and Morrison governments.

There are real issues with standards of living in this country, but we have to address those in a collective sense. We need to ensure that there are good, secure jobs. To do that, we've already invested in and outlined our plan for child care. We want more women back in the workforce. We want to make sure that there is proper negotiation and flexibility between the business community and unions in negotiating the ways forward. These are all sensible ideas, but what do we see from those opposite? Back to the old scare campaign, 'Heavens above, if you have business and unions working together, no, what we're going to have is strikes.' What a lot of nonsense. It's time to move into the 21st century.

We want to see more sustainable investment. We want to create a sustainable economy that sees good, well-paid jobs. We want people to have the skills that are going to be needed for the future. As part of that, we will have to change and open up migration so we can bring skills in, because even with the investment we're making in TAFE we're not going to be able to fill the jobs that are now there and need to be filled. We've got a new problem, and it is a good problem to have: we've got more jobs than we have workers. We're not going to be able to address that without bringing new skilled migrants into this country, who will not only fill those positions but add richness to our culture and to our economy.

But all we see from those opposite is criticism. It's like they can't just say, 'Gee, this government is getting on with it.' We didn't see Mr Dutton at the summit, but we did see Mr Littleproud, who was there and making a contribution. Maybe he should resign from his party and join the Liberal Party so that they have a leader! Mr 22 Per Cent, better known as Mr Dutton, as of this morning's newspaper, has a lot to learn. People in the electorates are sick and tired of the division. They want governments, oppositions and other parties to work together to come up with a stronger economy, more secure jobs, more women back in the workforce, and proper wages for people in aged care and those who are looking after our youngest minds in early childhood education. We need more people investing in those jobs and we need to make sure they're remunerated accordingly.