Mr GARETH EVANS —Chubby Checker's name was Ernest Evans, actually, so you can add that to your repertoire. My question is to the Treasurer again. How can you credibly claim that employment growth next year will increase from 1¼ to 1¾per cent when at the same time you are forecasting GDP growth to fall by three quarters of a per cent and are also forecasting private consumption and business investment, the two key underpinnings of that growth, to be falling as well?

Mr COSTELLO (Treasurer) —Those forecasts are continuing with job growth which is already in the pipeline and will continue.

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr COSTELLO —I have never seen people so unhappy when unemployment falls below eight per cent. The Labor Party were walking around saying, `Isn't this a terrible thing—unemployment has fallen in this country. Isn't that a terrible thing?' It is the lowest unemployment since 1990, since the Labor Party said, `That was the recession we had to have.' The Labor Party put Australia into recession. Your leader, your hero, said that was a recession we had to have. And loyally serving at his side was the man rising to his feet.

Mr Beazley —On a point of order, Mr Speaker: he has been asked a highly specific question about one of the number of sections in their forecast over which more than the opposition has put a question mark. It was a very specific question, uncluttered by any prefaces or any other element to it. What we want to know is the basis of his calculation, and we want to hear it.

Mr SPEAKER —The Leader of the Opposition has made his point. The minister's answer will be relevant to the question.

Mr COSTELLO —As I said, Mr Speaker, we have falling unemployment and jobs growth in the system and an unemployment rate now the lowest since the Labor Party engineered a recession—engineered by your hero, Paul Keating, who said this was the recession we had to have. And serving at his side as the employment minister, with an unemployment record of 11.3 per cent, was the man rising to his feet again.

Mr Beazley —On a point of order, Mr Speaker: it was a simple and direct question. A simple and direct question, despite his arrogant smart aleckry, requires a—

Mr SPEAKER —The Leader of the Opposition will raise his point of order.

Mr Beazley —It requires a simple and direct answer, and we are not getting it.

Mr Martin —Has he finished? Is that it?

Mr SPEAKER —The answer is concluded.