Mrs DE-ANNE KELLY (4:51 PM) —When I read today's MPI, `the adverse consequences of government social and economic policy on employment', I was reminded of one of the classic sayings from that marvellous Australian film, The Castle. I do not know whether your family enjoys The Castle, Mr Deputy Speaker, but mine does. One of the classic lines from that is, `You've got to be dreaming!' I looked at the MPI and I thought, `The member for Dickson has got to be dreaming.' She really has, because the truth of the matter is that we have the runs on the board.

Let me compare Labor's last six years in government with the coalition government's results from March 1996 to May 2001—slightly less than the six years. Total jobs growth under the Labor Party in that period was 404,600. What did the coalition achieve: 820,000. The member for Dickson has got to be dreaming. Full-time jobs growth under Labor was 27,000, but full-time jobs growth under the coalition is 405,000. She has got to be dreaming. Part-time job creation under Labor was 377,500; under the coalition, 415,300. Total male jobs under Labor was 102,500; under the coalition, 380,000. She has just got to be dreaming. Female jobs growth under Labor was 302,100; under the coalition, 440,200. What about jobs per month? What is the record? How many jobs per month did Labor create? The figure per month for the whole period of time that Labor was in government was 5,900. What has the coalition achieved in the time that we have been in government: 13,200. The member for Dickson has got to be dreaming. Average annual jobs growth under Labor was 71,400; under the coalition, 158,000. Our employment result is double the rate it was during Labor's last six years in government. The member for Dickson has got to be dreaming. What about annual percentage jobs growth? I love percentages because they are nice and clean and easy to understand. Those figures are 0.9 per cent under Labor and 1.8 per cent under the coalition.

The unemployment rate under the Labor Party was 10.9 per cent. The latest figures under the coalition are 6.9 per cent. The unemployment rate has fallen by 1.3 percentage points since the government was elected. The member for Dickson has got to be dreaming. What about young people—the future of our great nation? What is the result for young Australians? Teenage full-time unemployment under the Labor Party was 133,300. That was the high in July 1992. Our latest result is 70,400. Young people actually have a future under the coalition. With regard to the unemployment rate for young people—teenagers—under Labor, the high, again in July 1992, was 34.5 per cent. What a disgrace. Under the coalition we brought that down to 23.3. There is hope for young Australians under a coalition government.

Let us go to my own area. I always think the story is told on the home patch. Look at the heading in today's Daily Mercury: `Extra jobs will give huge boost'. The Daily Mercury has given the lie to Labor's story. Listen to this:

Do you know who is out getting jobs for Mackay? It is being done by MAIN—the Mackay Area Industry Network, a cluster of 45 companies in Mackay. Do you know who funded that cluster? It was funded by the coalition government, under the area consultative committee set up by this government—going out to tackle multinational companies overseas for jobs in Mackay. And we did it. What about other local projects? Here is a project that was mentioned last week in the Daily Mercury under the heading `It's our turn: time has come: $40 million revitalisation plan to provide focal point for Mackay'. The article reads:

That is 85 jobs and what we fondly call the dream river. Let me give you the version of that project of our editor of the Daily Mercury—a project again funded by the federal coalition government. The editor of the Mercury says:

It is the river of dreams. And what about the building industry? Let me read from the Daily Mercury of 15 May, in which the Besser Masonry North Queensland manager, David Ede, said:

But this is the one:

They are all initiatives of the federal coalition government.

Mr Slipper —All good news.

Mrs DE-ANNE KELLY —It is great news. Even Peter Beattie, trying his hardest to actually drive up unemployment, cannot override the good news and the good efforts of the federal coalition government. What about this newspaper article of 2 June? This gives a lie to the member for Dickson. She has got to be dreaming. Look at the heading in the paper: `Jobs: $425 million go ahead'. It says:

That is all being done under a sound, federal coalition government keeping interest rates low, providing incentive, ensuring that the building industry keeps going—sensible initiatives to encourage investment and create real jobs. The member for Dickson has got to be dreaming.

Mr Slipper —It's a nightmare.

Mrs DE-ANNE KELLY —You are right. It is not a dream; it is a nightmare. Many of my constituents agree with the parliamentary secretary and his comment. In a letter to the Mercury of 17 May, George Cowan of Andergrove says:

that is, the Labor party—

Here is a letter about the GST—you see, people do think—from Brian Wallace in Mackay. He says:

These are decent, ordinary Australians who can see through the Labor Party. But I think that I will leave it to Mr Woodford, who says:

Thank you, Mr Woodford from Paget—an area, by the way, with a lot of railway workshops and railway workers. He is absolutely right. The member for Dickson is dreaming—she has got to be dreaming. We have got the runs on the board and we will continue to do the right thing by Australians: low interest rates, sensible programs and a job network that delivers. The coalition government are there with the runs on the board.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Jenkins)—Order! The discussion has concluded.