Mr TOLLNER (6:52 PM) —I rise today to speak on this important Welfare to Work legislation before the House. I was interested to hear the member for Scullin mention the ACOSS report, which I will talk about later in this speech. The member for Scullin certainly displays that old handout mentality of the Labor Party—so very, very sad to see. I believe that the Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work and Other Measures) Bill 2005 and the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Bill 2005 are two of the most important bills for the Northern Territory that I have had the opportunity to debate since being elected in 2001. I want to start by saying that these bills perfectly highlight to me the profound differences between this government, a government that wants all Australians to get a job, and the Labor opposition, who believe that it is fine to throw money at people to keep them out of jobs—as was amply demonstrated then by the member for Scullin.

Mr Jenkins —No, no. If you had come in at the early part you would understand.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Baldwin)—The member for Scullin will refrain from interjecting.

Mr TOLLNER —This government has a commitment to ensure that those Australians, and in particular those Territorians, who want to work can get every opportunity to get that work. Let us have a quick look at the differences between this government—a government of consistent economic growth, a government of ongoing job creation, a government of low interest rates, a government with a program of workplace flexibility and choice and a government that has delivered real wage increases of 14.9 per cent since 1996—and the Labor Party.

Since March of 1996 the coalition government has created more than 1.7 million jobs, the unemployment rate of 5.1 per cent is now close to a 30-year low and there are now more than seven million Australians in employment. Under this government there have been more full-time jobs created in the last six months than there were in the last six years of the previous Labor government. These figures show a government that is committed to creating jobs for all Australians. It is a government that is dedicated to the sustained economic wellbeing of all Australian families, and this can only continue through labour market reforms and through the welfare reforms that we have seen and are seeing now.

This is in stark contrast, of course, to the record of the Labor Party. In fact, Labor’s record in government says it all: a peak unemployment rate of 10.9 per cent in December 1992 and an average unemployment rate of around 9.2 per cent for their last two terms in office. That is Labor’s record of getting Australians a job. I was doing a bit of research today and—I am not sure if many members are aware—yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the announcement by former Labor Treasurer, Paul Keating, of the recession we had to have. Yes, on Thursday, 29 November 1990 the then Treasurer said:

At that stage the unemployment rate was nearing 10 per cent and going up. We had interest rates around a whopping 12 per cent, a level of debt that left tears in most economists’ eyes and a quarterly growth rate of—get this, Mr Deputy Speaker—minus 1.6 per cent. Further, due to the labour market policies of the Labor Party the total number of unemployed Australians grew by over 460,000 between October 1989 and July 1992.

Of course, that is the difference between these two governments. This government is a government that wants to see more people in jobs and has the vision, the policies and the drive to see it through. Contrast that with the policy black hole that is the Australian Labor Party. This bill is designed to improve on the employment figures of this government and introduces measures that will address the future hurdles that we face because of an ageing population, demographic changes and continuing high levels of welfare dependency.

The remainder of my remarks in this debate will address the unique situation that the Northern Territory is placed in and why there is no doubt that this bill, and the industrial relations reforms, will significantly benefit many Territorians who are on welfare payments. I believe in a hand up, not a handout. I believe that getting a person into employment benefits not just that person but the whole community. In the Territory we face a unique situation. In my electorate of Solomon the unemployment rate is about three per cent—lower than the national average. The unemployment rate for the rest of the Territory is about nine per cent, which means that the unemployment rate for the Northern Territory as a whole is 4.8 per cent. Why is it higher outside of Darwin and Palmerston? Because there is a higher proportion of Indigenous Territorians who have historically suffered from higher rates of unemployment. Indeed, the Chief Minister and the Treasurer of the Northern Territory have in the past argued that the real Indigenous unemployment rate would be 10 per cent higher than the figures show. On that argument, Indigenous unemployment under the Labor Party would have been around 20 per cent on their watch.

However, this government is about creating jobs in these regional and remote areas of the Northern Territory. As a complementary part of the industrial relations reforms and the proposed changes to the Aboriginal land rights act, the Welfare to Work package will create jobs in these regions of the Territory. There have recently been criticisms of the Welfare to Work reforms by the Australian Council of Social Service, as the member for Scullin mentioned, that the policy will mean less money in Indigenous and remote communities because welfare payments will be reduced if a person fails to find work. That argument does not wash with me. In fact, the opposite will be the case. These reforms will mean the creation of an additional 450,000 positions for employment assistance, training and rehabilitation to assist people around Australia in getting off welfare and into a job.

My understanding of economics is at times a bit vague but, as I understand it, if you have more people in jobs you will have more people spending money, you will have governments collecting more taxes that can be reinvested in the economy and you will have more money going into communities—all being driven by the reforms that the government is putting forward. For example, under the changes, businesses in the remote regions will have the flexibility to negotiate directly with workers to formulate an agreement that suits that business in their specific region. They will not be tied to the major centres in Australia such as Sydney or Melbourne; they will be able to negotiate flexible agreements that suit their particular location.

Mainstream businesses outside the remote regions will be enticed to set up operations in these areas because of the security of leases. Not so long ago, the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs proposed changes to the Aboriginal land rights act. The reforms to the act would allow long-term leasing of Aboriginal land in communities and townships. If there were long-term leases, they would provide security for businesses such as butchers, bakers and market gardeners. Even McDonald’s may choose to set up in these communities. At the moment, there are very few communities in the Northern Territory that have a market garden, a bakery, a butcher shop, let alone a McDonald’s or an Irish theme pub. In any case, as businesses set up in these communities, they will have access to a ready pool of workers who live locally and who know the region.

These reforms will see young, single mothers across the Territory, of which a high proportion are Indigenous, being provided with all the opportunities possible to enter the work force. The Welfare to Work bill will see those Territorians on the disability support pension being able to get a job when and where they can. We have an untapped work force in the Territory that must be developed, particularly if we want Aborigines to gain better access to the mainstream economic system.

Once again, the approach by the government is completely contrasted by that of the Australian Labor Party, who believe that welfare should be handed out willy-nilly to all and sundry. They prefer to see a system where there is no incentive for the jobless to seek and gain employment, where the ‘sit-down money’ concept is retained and supported. We all know that that approach has not worked. It must change. Just ask Noel Pearson about the effect of welfare poison on Aborigines.

When I was first elected, all of the winning candidates were invited to give a speech at the Australian Electoral Commission offices about their plans for the future. I was interested to note that the fundamental goal of the member for Lingiari—his overriding desire—was to see a Centrelink office at Port Keats. That was his goal for the term. He succeeded: we now have a Centrelink office at Port Keats. But I often wonder: if that is the best that the member for Lingiari can come up with, things are pretty bad in Aboriginal communities.

Labor will of course protest and say that they have a policy that supports people getting into jobs. Fine—let us see their policy in detail. What they have done in the past is a record of how successful any policy of theirs would be—and I clearly illustrated their record earlier in my contribution. With the industrial relations reforms, the Welfare to Work package and, specifically in the NT, changes to the Aboriginal land rights act, these bills and related legislation probably constitute the most important debates for me and the Northern Territory. These reforms will see more people—in particular, Indigenous Territorians but also non-Indigenous Territorians—being provided with the opportunity to engage in employment right across the board.

I want to conclude with a quote from the current Leader of the Opposition. This is a perfect example of the difference between the current government’s policies, which deliver real benefits to Australians, and Labor’s failures. In this House on 31 October 1989 he said:

That has got to be it. Under Labor, real wages grew by just 2.2 per cent between 1987 and 1996. Under this government, they have grown by 14.9 per cent since 1996. That is the fundamental difference between this government and the Labor opposition. I urge all members to get behind these bills and support them.