Mr PROSSER —My question is directed to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister inform the House of the latest developments in the Australian labour market as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in this morning's paper?

Mr HOWARD (Prime Minister) —The answer to the honourable gentleman's question is yes, I can. I am delighted, as I would hope all members of this House are delighted, with the employment figures that were announced this morning by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In the past month, another 33,000 jobs were created and unemployment is now at 7.4 per cent, the lowest figure it has been since September 1990. Youth unemployment has fallen to 23½ per cent, and that is the lowest figure for youth unemployment since 1991. I am especially delighted to say that almost 80,000 jobs have been created over this summer. A total of 406,000 jobs have been created since the coalition came to power just three years ago. The number of unemployed has fallen below 700,000 for the first time since December 1990.

That is the good news. The bad news is that the Labor Party has stopped it getting better. The bad news is that the Labor Party, faced with a historic opportunity to join us to drive home the advantage of a strengthening economy, has decided to stand against further reforms. When you are doing well is the last time to relax the reform effort. The Australian economy is in a very strong and healthy condition. So far from that being an occasion for this government to down tools on the reform process, we believe that is the time to accelerate the reform process. We intend to accelerate the reform process through our historic taxation reform program which will lay the foundation for continuing strength in the Australian economy.

But, more specifically on the labour market, we do have the opportunity to go further. If we were to preserve youth wages as part of the system, if we were to sweep away the job destroying consequences of the existing unfair dismissal laws, if we were to further free the Australian labour market, we could look forward over the next three years to even lower levels of unemployment. It is within our grasp.

You cannot have a better conjunction of circumstances. You have got a strong economy, you have got a government determined to undertake the necessary reforms and you have got growing public support for those reforms. But standing against that coalition for the future is the party of the past—the Australian Labor Party, a party which is hogtied to its trade union roots and which only looks at these things in terms of the institutional rigidities of a system that belongs to the 1960s or the 1970s and not to the 21st century.

I appeal to those in the Australian Labor Party to put aside your outdated ideology and think of the employment future of young Australians. If you think of the employment future of young Australians you will withdraw your opposition to our unfair dismissal laws and you will join us in creating an even brighter future for young Australians into the 21st century.