PRESS RELEASE

THE HON. TONY ABBOTT MHR, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

FEDERAL MEMBER FOR WARRINGAH

THE COALITION’S JOBS PLEDGE

The next Coalition government will create a strong and prosperous economy and a safe and secure Australia.

Our policies will deliver more jobs, higher wages and better services for Australian families. We will
achieve this through lower taxes, more efficient government and more productive businesses.

Today, I am committing a future Coalition government to creating one million new jobs within five years
and two million new jobs over the next decade.

My confidence in this pledge is based on my confidence in our policies and in the competence and
experience of my team. Sixteen members of the Shadow Cabinet were ministers in the Howard Government
which delivered a golden age of prosperity.

The last Coalition government created 2.4 million jobs, oversaw a 21 per cent increase in real wages and
resulted in Australian households experiencing a near tripling in net household wealth.

We have done great things for our country in the past and we can do it again.

The next Coalition Government will create one million jobs in five years and two million jobs in ten years
by:

 Abolishing Labor’s job destroying carbon tax. On the government’s own figures, eliminating the
carbon tax would add a cumulative $1 trillion to GDP by 2050;
 Scrapping the mining tax and restoring Australia’s reputation as a safe place to invest;
 Removing $1 billion a year of red tape costs from business and implementing our Deregulation
Reform Agenda to lift national productivity;
 Ending Labor’s waste and bringing the Budget back under control, taking needless pressure off taxes
and interest rates;
 Tackling lawlessness in workplaces by restoring the Australian Building and Construction
Commission;
 Removing export bottlenecks by investing in the major infrastructure that Australia needs
 Establishing a one-stop-shop for environmental approvals;
 Lifting workforce participation through a fair dinkum paid parental leave scheme and reviving work
for the dole;
 Strengthening relationships with the growing Asian region through greater emphasis on foreign
languages in schools and a new two way Colombo Plan;
 Establishing a Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council and ending Labor’s anti-business
rhetoric.

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In 2013 the Coalition will make further detailed announcements with policies that will strengthen the
economy, encourage investment and create jobs.

Employment growth under the Howard Government averaged 2.2 per cent a year. Under Labor, this rate has
fallen by almost one third.

Our pledge is achievable given our record and policies.

28 November 2012