Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Hansard source

They have a damn sight better prospect of getting a job under the economy the way that we're managing it rather than having an economy that had the imposition of $387 billion of additional taxes. They have a much better chance of getting a job under this government than they did under them. The youth unemployment rate now is one per cent lower than it was when they left office. That's due to the programs that we're putting in place to assist young people to get into jobs and to get employment. By maintaining our strong economic settings we will continue to provide the opportunities. By opening up new trade markets, which we're doing through free trade agreements, we'll provide new opportunities for industry and business to grow jobs, particularly in regional Australia. It would be nice if the Labor Party indicated their support, or otherwise, of those free trade agreements, because it's been one of the things that's assisted this country to grow its economy since we came into government. (Time expired)