Mr BARRESI (2:33 PM) —My question is addressed to the Minister for Employment Services. Is the minister aware of claims made in the House yesterday that the Job Network is failing to provide adequate assistance to job seekers and that the Job Network is not providing access to training for job seekers? What is the government's response to these claims?

Mr ABBOTT (Minister for Employment Services) —I note that there were just two CES offices in the electorate of Deakin a few years ago and that there are now 10 Job Network sites. I thank the member for his question. I am aware that in her MPI speech yesterday the member for Dickson, the shadow minister for employment and training, said that the Job Network was failing job seekers. She said that she was receiving letters and phone calls almost every day from dissatisfied job seekers. I know that MPs on both sides of this House do sometimes get letters of complaint. I know this because they always forward them to me, and my department does its best to resolve the matters. I know that there is a job seeker complaints hotline. Its phone number is 1800 805260. That has handled some 13,000 complaints over the last two years from an average of 800,000 registered job seekers at any one time. I am pleased to say that 95 per cent of these complaints have been cleared up within five days.

The interesting thing is that, despite receiving letters every day, the member for Dickson has not made a single representation on behalf of job seekers. In the 18 months that I have been responsible for the Job Network and in the six months that she has been shadow minister for employment and training, she has not made one representation on behalf of job seekers. The question is: what is she doing with all these letters? She is not running an electorate office; she is running a dead-letter office. The sad thing is that she is not helping her constituents; she is using their letters as nothing but political ammunition, and that is a very sad indictment of any local member.

Mr ABBOTT —The member for Dickson also repeated Labor's tired claims that the Job Network was a failure because it did not necessarily provide training. I have a document in my possession headed up `employment information' which states:

As if to emphasise the point, on the next page this document states:

This is an official brochure distributed by the Labor member for Paterson. This is what the member for Paterson thinks the Job Network does.

Mr ABBOTT —Obviously the member for Dickson has not persuaded the member for Paterson nor has she persuaded the members for Hotham, Batman, Hunter, Dobell, Barton, Cunningham, Corio, Banks, Bowman, Perth, Lilley and Wills, her fellow frontbenchers who all walked out on her yesterday before she walked out on the debate that she had herself instituted.

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr ABBOTT —They really are a pretty rum mob opposite. There are the know-alls who write books and then there are the know-nothings—

Mr Price —Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order: how is this relevant to the question and how is he responsible for Labor Party members?

Mr SPEAKER —The minister was asked to make a comment about the Job Network, as I understand it, and was asked for a comment about employment. I thought that is what he was dealing with.

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr SPEAKER —The member for Prospect might want to check what yesterday's MPI was about. The minister is relevant and I call him.

Mr ABBOTT —There are the know-alls opposite who write books and there are the know-nothings who are too frightened to look at the newspaper every day.

Mr McMullan —Mr Speaker—

Mr SPEAKER —The minister will resume his seat. If the Manager of Opposition Business is raising a point of order on relevance—

Mr McMullan —Yes, I am.

Mr SPEAKER —The Manager of Opposition Business is entirely right because the opening remarks of the minister bore no relevance to the question.

Mr ABBOTT —I am very, very happy to help the member for Dickson to resolve the problems that are brought to her attention. But she has got to bring them to my attention first. She has got to table these letters, bring the letters to me and show me the letters before she puts them in a pathetic press release.

Mr SPEAKER —The Leader of the Opposition knows better than anyone else that, until he is recognised, he will not get the call.