Mr McDOUGALL (9:49 AM) —I believe there is a dark wall of negativity surrounding the nation. Despite the fact we now have one of the highest standards of living in the world, the opposition keep promoting bleak thoughts of doom and gloom. The intention is, of course, to convince us that we are a sick nation and that they could do much to make us better. Labor's constant negative pronouncements are dutifully reported by the media, which does not always have time to reflect on the fact that this is the same crowd with the same views that sent the nation economically and morally close to bankruptcy.

I do not believe the media is biased. There are too many hardworking journalists who have inquiring minds for that to be the case. But I do believe the media as a whole tends to follow the tail of the horse in front. This is apparent when you watch the evening news—you see virtually identical items on every channel—and the daily papers regularly run the same front page story, with often the same photographs and certainly the same angle. To some people, a cup is half full; to others, the same cup is half empty. So when I see a newspaper headline which boldly states `Unemployment locked in at 8%', I wonder why the journalist who designed that headline did not write `Unemployment drops to 8%'.

It is obvious the Labor Party and some elements of the media are locked into a negative view; their cup is half empty. Mine is nearly full because of the result of all this government's positive moves—moves which see unemployment drop to below seven per cent in the bulk of my electorate of Griffith and to below five per cent in the remainder of the electorate. My cup is overflowing when I see job opportunities increasing at such a rate in my electorate.

In the suburb of Cannon Hill, for example, the unemployment rate has dropped from 9.4 to 6.2 per cent; in Coorparoo, from 9.1 to 6.3 per cent. Why don't the bearers of negative news tout these figures? Because the spendthrifts of this nation—that is, the opposition, the Labor Party—are terrified that the Australian community will realise they are better off, that their cups are half full, not half empty.

As we see job creation, and unemployment figures drop, and as we enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, we see the opposition work harder at convincing us all that we were better off almost bankrupt, better off without the funds to launch social security programs, better off without the funds to create a national job network—the list of positive programs the Labor Party would spoil goes on. (Time expired)