Mr MARTIN FERGUSON —Rents went up by more than $6.80.

Mr SPEAKER —The honourable member for Batman will ask his question.

Mr MARTIN FERGUSON —My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm that since the slashing of skillshares and other job programs the number of long-term unemployed has now grown from one in four to one in three of all unemployed? Has the Prime Minister seen today's figures which show a 6,400 increase in the number of long-term unemployed for April in seasonally adjusted terms?

Mr HOWARD (Prime Minister) —I think all members of the House remain concerned about the level of unemployment and about the level of the long-term unemployed. That is no secret, and there is no monopoly of concern about that. But let me take the opportunity of saying to the honourable member for Batman that since we came to office we have created 280,000 new jobs. It would do the honourable member for Batman well, and it would do his colleagues well, to understand that since August of last year this government has created almost 140,000 new jobs. I ask—rhetorically, of course—how many new jobs were created in the last six years of the Labor government? Twenty thousand—20,000 new jobs. In other words, in two years we have created seven times more full-time jobs than Labor was able to create in the last six years it held power.

Of course, the Labor Party is now led by a man who has the inglorious distinction of having presided over, as employment minister, the largest level of unemployment in Australia seen since the years of the Great Depression.

Mr Costello —Oh gee; who was that?

Mr HOWARD —That was the Leader of the Opposition. In the early 1990s he presided over an unemployment rate of 11.2 per cent, which is the highest unemployment rate that Australia has suffered since the years of the Great Depression.

So, Beazley: employment minister—highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression. Last six years of Labor: 20,000 full-time jobs created. First two years of government: 140,000 full-time jobs created—280,000 new jobs created since my government came to office. Of course the nation has a long way to go with unemployment. Of course 7.9 per cent is still too high. But we are making progress, and what is also important is that we are doing a lot better than you were doing.