Tuesday, 29 August 2023

Ministers statements: employment

Daniel ANDREWS (Mulgrave – Premier) (14:39): I am delighted to be able to rise to inform the house and all Victorians about Victoria’s leading position in relation to job creation. We are delighted. Right across our Victorian community –

John Pesutto: Yes, Martin Foley.

Daniel ANDREWS: And Gordon Rich-Phillips, so there you go. You did not get the memo, did you? I am telling you, I have not got enough time to list all the former Libs who cross Collins Street and ring me, text me: ‘Can I get on a board?’ And maybe one day you will be doing the same. I will make sure you have got my number. But I was not so much talking about unemployment, I was talking about job creation, something that is of no interest to those opposite. We have created more than 500,000 Victorian jobs since September 2020.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, in the budget there was a 55 per cent cut to job creation in the state budget under the Andrews Labor government, so –

The SPEAKER: I would ask the member for Evelyn to have a look at the standing orders. That is not a point of order.

Daniel ANDREWS: Could you stop the clock while I recompose myself after that stunning attack. I was talking about –

Members interjecting.

Daniel ANDREWS: Well, it was not really an attack, and it was far from stunning. It was a joke, frankly, because while other people make light of this, we are getting on and creating hundreds of thousands –

John Pesutto: It is job creation for your mates – for your mates.

Daniel ANDREWS: If only the Leader of the Opposition’s inane interjections and volume created jobs, we would have full employment.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, under standing order 118 it is out of order to make personal imputations on both the member for Evelyn and the Leader of the Opposition, and that is what the Premier has done for the entirety of question time. It is entirely out of order, and I would ask you to bring him back to his own question.

Jacinta Allan: On the point of order, Speaker, if the Manager of Opposition Business wants to invoke standing order 118, he would want to be very careful, because every word that comes from the Leader of the Opposition’s mouth is rude and insulting to every single member on their feet. If he wants to do this, we will make sure we call out the Leader of the Opposition at every opportunity.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Imputations against members are against the standing orders, and all members should take note of that – on both sides of the house.

Daniel ANDREWS: More than 500,000 Victorian jobs since September 2020 – that is 140,000 more jobs than the next best state performer. It is not a one-horse race, it is a competitive process, and we are doing better than everyone by a considerable margin. Regional unemployment, of particular note, is 2.4 per cent, the lowest in the country and the lowest in our state’s history, and that is fantastic news for regional Victoria. This government will continue to work hard to create more jobs, to create opportunity, to improve services and to give people every opportunity so that we can continue to our leading position – something the Leader of the Opposition would know nothing about.