David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is the Leader of the Government in the Senate, and Minister for Employment, Senator Abetz. Is the minister aware of an agreement secured by the Australian Greens and other parties to block the government's mandate to remove unnecessary green tape and thereby expedite job creation? What are the consequences of this deal?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Regrettably, I am aware of an unseemly deal stitched up between the Greens and some other parties, including Labor, which manifests itself in the unprincipled and unprecedented motion to have the Senate inquire into the operations of the sovereign government of the state of Queensland. In the rush to cobble together the numbers for the inquiry, deals were struck which have now come to light, thanks to the boasting of Greens senator Larissa Waters in a media release which shows that they traded their support for this unprecedented inquiry in return for others blocking the government's mandate to remove duplicative green tape.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Pause the clock. Senator Moore, you have a point of order?

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I am seeking your advice as to whether the minister's answer is reflecting on a vote of the Senate.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Moore. I will listen carefully to the senator's answer. Minister.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was reflecting on a deal, not on a vote. The duplicative green tape which we want to remove has hindered job creation in this country for far too long. The unseemly deal not only offends centuries-old parliamentary precedents and conventions; it also attacks the job prospects of 70,000 unemployed Australians.

The coalition was elected on a clear mandate to fix the economy and create jobs. At the last election Labor promised not to do deals with the Greens ever again, yet immediately after the election Labor under Mr Shorten worked with the Greens nonstop to block every one of our job-creating initiatives—the repeal of the carbon tax, the repeal of the mining tax and bringing spending under control. And now there is the removal of green tape—a one-stop shop—which Ms Gillard and even Labor supported at one stage. If this deal remains in force, those parties supporting it will, according to BAEconomics, have 70,000 unemployed Australians hanging around their necks in 2025. (Time expired)

David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. My and the minister's home state of Tasmania suffers the highest unemployment rate in the country. This is the legacy of Labor-Green alliances in Hobart in Canberra. Can the minister advise the Senate of the consequences of yesterday's Greens-ALP deal for the job prospects of unemployed Tasmanians?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bushby is absolutely right to point to the high rate of unemployment in our home state of Tasmania—the highest in the country and the legacy of the double whammy of Greens-Labor governments in Canberra and Hobart. Our removal of duplicative green tape is designed to create jobs, especially in Tasmania. According to BAEconomics 1,240 job opportunities for unemployed Tasmanians will be trashed and $2,800 million in gross state product will be lost forever if this deal holds. All Tasmanians should reflect on the long-term consequences for our fellow unemployed Tasmanians of this short-term, politically charged deal relating to the Queensland state election. Trading Tasmanian jobs for state election success in Queensland is neither honourable nor honest. (Time expired)

David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister further advise the Senate of the likely consequences of yesterday's deal for unemployed people across Australia?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bushby is right to acknowledge that the collateral damage of yesterday's Senate deal will not only hit unemployed Tasmanians. According to BAEconomics, in Western Australia 11,000 jobs will be sacrificed and $25,600 million in cumulative gross state product gains will be sacrificed. In the state of Victoria 15,300 jobs will be sacrificed—and I simply wonder what the Labor leader in Victoria thinks of the deal done by his federal colleagues in this chamber costing 15,300 Victorian jobs. Mr Shorten and his Labor senators, in lock-step with the Greens, have voted to deny 70,000 Australians the opportunity of a job. They chose the Labor Party's welfare over the parliament's welfare and the economy's welfare. (Time expired)