QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:50): This government is all about increasing employment opportunities for Australians, and I think the last figure I saw was over a million jobs which had been created under this government.

Unemployment has remained very low, and participation rates are at record highs. That is our record on employment across the economy. Your question I think links to migration and some of the debates that you've been having around this in One Nation.

You would know, Senator Roberts, that we have reduced net overseas migration by about 45 per cent compared to the post-COVID peak. We did see a pull forward after the COVID years, essentially after the borders reopened, and net overseas migration has been tracking down since then. We are a country that relies on migration to support the economy and have historically, and indeed in recent months, in response to some of the policies that you've been outlining, we are seeing more and more businesses and industry raising concerns about those policies and the impact they would have on our economy.

We have unemployment sitting in the low fours. We've got jobs created under our government the most that we've seen in government over a sustained period of time. We've got participation rates at record highs.

We've got wages up. Women are working more and working more hours because of some of the work we've done to support wages in the feminised sector and to ensure that the childcare system works for them. On all of those metrics, Senator Roberts, I think you can see where we stand, which is about making sure that there are choices and opportunities for Australian workers in this country, and we'll continue that approach.

The PRESIDENT: Senator Roberts, first supplementary.