Federal Election 2019: Where the parties stand on jobs and the economy

Find out what the major stakeholders are saying, and where the major parties stand, on jobs and the economy.

Both major parties are seeking to play to traditional voter perceptions of their strengths. The Liberals are arguing their policies have created jobs and will continue to do so, by building a stronger economy. This is the centrepiece of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s argument for re-election - that the Coalition has delivered a strong economy and can be trusted to continue to do so.

Labor argues workers have been left behind with stalled wage growth amid rising living costs. The ALP is vowing to legislate to ensure workers get pay rises and stop penalty rates being cut. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten repeatedly has accused the Coalition of favouring the big end of town at the expense of struggling workers.

Among the minor parties, the Conservatives are adhering to their ideology by vowing to cut taxes, slash red tape and reintroduce a debt ceiling.

Freezing the salaries of MPs and senior public servants is an attention-grabbing measure that the major parties are unlikely to adopt.

The Centre Alliance opts for the pragmatic case of infrastructure building in the regions and maximising local involvement in naval shipbuilding projects.

The Greens are less specific, arguing the case for goals, rather than specific policy measures.

WHAT THE STAKEHOLDERS SAY

SACOSS chief executive Ross Womersley

“Income support needs to be adequate enough for people to get through tough times; job services are not working - we need them to be a real help to finding employment; genuine pathways to training and properly paid work experience that will help people into jobs; develop local partnerships with employers and community services to specifically help those facing entrenched labour market disadvantage. As community members we should all be able to enjoy the collective peace of mind that there is enough funding for the vital services we need (e.g. quality education, aged care, disability support etc.), our tax system should be improved by removing loopholes so the wealthy & corporations give back fairly to our society”.

Property Council of Australia SA executive director, Daniel Gannon

“Now, more than ever, the property sector needs long-term certainty and confidence that will encourage growth, investment and innovation and enable it to support a prosperous, job-creating, growing economy. This means releasing economic handbrakes and implementing policies that will unashamedly contribute to job creation.”

Business SA spokesman Anthony Penney

““Business, particularly SMEs, will only take on extra staff if they can afford to. Right now, they’re being crippled with high electricity, gas, water and labour costs. There needs to be sensible policy to reduce the major input costs of business.”

WHAT THE PARTIES SAY

THE COALITION

A re-elected Morrison Government will create another 1.25 million jobs over the next five years. We will do this by building a stronger economy and supporting businesses to start and to grow. The Morrison Government is determined to build on its strong record and get more young Australians into work. That is why we pledge that a re-elected Morrison Government will deliver 250,000 new young Australians employment over the next five years. One in five of our new jobs will be for young Australians.

UPDATE

Liberals will support Australia’s manufacturing sector by vowing to expand and create more jobs and “reinvigorate” the famous Australian Made campaign to grow export markets.

The Coalition will promise $5 million to promote the Australian Made logo in key export markets and establish new trademarks in markets such as the European Union, UK and Canada.

UPDATE

Thousands of Australian women will get free checks to help them with their career under a $75 million plan from the Coalition.

Sessions will include help with job interviews, polishing up on computer skills and professional development, or advice.

The checks will be available to up to 40,000 women. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said many Australians in their 30s and 40s were part of the “sandwich generation” that had taken time out of their careers to start families, care for children and were often worrying about their ageing parents.

LABOR

Labor will:

■Introduce a living wage to make sure people earn enough to make ends meet;

■Restore penalty rates in the first 100 days of government and legislate so they will never be cut again;

■Protect workers and ensure they get a fair deal by tackling unfair labour hire practices used to undermine pay and conditions of direct employees;

■Reform the definition of ‘casual’ so that it is used for the purposes for which it was originally intended;

■Provide 10 days paid domestic and family violence leave for all workers who need it;

■Investing in local infrastructure projects including road and port upgrades;

■Create more local jobs on local projects by giving local businesses better access to government contracts.

Bill Shorten and Labor will deliver a fair go for Australians, not just the top end of town. When the Top End of town pay their fair share, we can build new infrastructure and give workers a fair go. Also, you CANNOT have a plan for economic growth without a plan to invest in schools and education. Morrison’s cuts to public schools while trying to give $80B handouts to big business will hurt our economy and children’s future. This is why we are investing record amounts in education which is critical to building a stronger economy.

UPDATE:

Labor leader Bill Shorten announced a “Renewable Energy Zone” for the Spencer Gulf that he says could create 1300 jobs in emerging industry.

UPDATE:

Bill Shorten also announced a crackdown on multinational tax avoidance and a “new jobs tax cut” to encourage small businesses to create jobs

THE GREENS

The Greens have a plan to protect workers’ rights, support small business and the industries of the future, create jobs, close the gender pay gap and plan for the future of work. We will create a future for all of us by educating, upskilling and protecting people as our industries change. We will establish a specialised, independent Future of Work Commission which will focus on the impacts of technological innovation and develop long-term strategies for jobs. We will invest in the science, research and innovation that will help people get ready for the jobs of tomorrow, today.

CENTRE ALLIANCE

Centre Alliance will advocate strongly for the necessary rail and port infrastructure to unlock more than $10 billion in job-creating projects in the regions and to maximise local business involvement in ship and submarine building/maintenance in SA. We’ll advocate for trade/technical training programs, as well as the reintroduction of mentoring programs to support apprenticeship completion, to ensure there are sufficient local workers to fill the jobs created by these projects. We will also support skilled migration into regional areas to facilitate some of these projects.

AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATIVES

To foster growth and subsequent employment, the government must cut existing taxes and reduce red tape which will allow the private sector to flourish, creating economic growth and greater employment. Taxes are the enemy of economic growth and that’s why the Australian Conservatives are determined to reduce taxes and ensure the government lives within its means. The economy can only thrive when the budget is in surplus and government debt is brought down to manageable levels. To that end, the Australian Conservatives want to reintroduce the Commonwealth’s debt ceiling which the Coalition abolished to service Labor’s debt. The Australian Conservatives also want to freeze the salaries of all MP’s and senior public servants until the budget is brought back in the black.

THE ADVERTISER SAYS

Voters should be wary of expecting too much from any of the political parties, even those able to form government, when it comes to job creation. Governments can set policy framework and invest in infrastructure but businesses, small and large, are the economy’s drivers. There are some strong emerging headwinds, including concerns over China’s growth, slumping eastern seaboard house prices damaging consumer confidence and worries about a United States recession. Mr Morrison’s job predictions are not iron-clad, just as Mr Shorten cannot pay the wages of workers at businesses he would ask to shell out more.

-Paul Starick, Senior Reporter