Thursday, 3 August 2023

Ministers statements: employment

Tim PALLAS (Werribee – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Trade and Investment) (14:26): The Andrews Labor government knows that there are challenges facing Victorians in dealing with the inflation that is peaking right across the globe and making it harder for families to meet the rising cost of living. We also know that the best protection that Victorians can have against those buffeting winds of uncertainty is a well-paid job, and we are going about delivering that in very tangible terms. Some of my colleagues here may well remember the member for Kew’s inaugural speech, when she said that it is business that creates jobs, not government. Well, she was half right. Those opposite showed us during their last term in office that coalition governments do in fact not create jobs. But as we have seen since the 2014 election, Labor governments can and do create jobs. Since September 2020 this government has overseen the creation of almost 400 –

A member interjected.

Tim PALLAS: I digress for a moment, Speaker, to draw to the house’s attention a modern-day medical miracle: a dead man talking.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Lara can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Lara withdrew from chamber.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, not only was that nasty but talking about someone in those terms is outrageous.

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer to come back to his ministers statement. That was not a point of order. I ask the Treasurer to come back to his statement, and I also remind members: if they are offended, they are able to ask for a withdrawal at the time.

Tim PALLAS: So unemployment is now just 3.7 per cent, a full three percentage points lower than the rate we inherited in 2014. The regional unemployment rate is lower still – just 2.8 per cent, the lowest ever on record. For this reason the government is making real efforts to ensure that we continue to invest in jobs and training. We have expanded the eligibility for free TAFE, we have introduced the lowest payroll tax rate in the nation in regional Victoria and we have passed groundbreaking –

A member interjected.

Tim PALLAS: He is still going. Somebody call a priest – it’s a second rising.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Treasurer’s time has expired.