Senator POLLEY (Tasmania) (16:50): I believe the Morrison government and those opposite just think that the economy might go away or something, because they've been so reluctant to talk about the economy. Our floundering economy is desperate for leadership. Where are the Treasurer and the Prime Minister of this country? Where is the leadership? They're playing wedge politics and pointing the finger at others, but they're not showing the leadership that we so desperately need in this nation when we're talking about our economy. The floundering economy is slowing substantially. Australians are struggling. Australians are looking for and expecting to see some leadership from this government, but I'd have to say that they're sadly mistaken if they think there's going to be any leadership forthcoming anytime soon. 'It's the economy, stupid' are the famous words uttered during President Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential election campaign. Let's be frank: not much has changed since then. Elections are always about the economy, and they should be. The strength of the economy determines the livelihood of the majority of Australians. The strength of the economy determines whether someone can find a job and whether they can hold that job and have job security, which is why I find it so odd that the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and all of those opposite are so unwilling to discuss the issues associated with the economy. This week, we've had to acknowledge that, unfortunately, the Liberal government have been in power for six years. They're in their third term now, and what have we seen? Not a very good economic report card. In fact, it is very, very disappointing reading. Economic growth is at the lowest levels since the global financial crisis, sitting at 0.6 per cent. There are 1.8 million Australians who are looking for work or for more hours. Underemployment is a crisis in this country. Wages are growing at one-sixth of the pace of profits, with the government presiding over the worst wages growth on record. But that's not all. Household debt has surged to record levels, increasing to $650 billion under the Liberals. Economic growth per person is going backwards, productivity is going backwards, business investment is down 20 per cent. And these are the people who cry, 'We are the friends of business.' Well, they're not very good friends, if you ask me! Our investment in business is at the lowest level since the 1990s recession. Net debt has more than doubled. People cannot afford to get into the property market. Jobs should be a priority of any government. We do not have job security and we have a skills shortage in this country. It's an epidemic. What does the government have to say about it? Nothing. In January 2019 there were 42,000 job vacancies in regional and remote Australia. What has the government done to address the skills gap and make sure people are job ready to take up those opportunities? Nothing. Employment of any kind should be safe, it should be secure and it should be remunerated so the individual can improve their social standing and their economic circumstances. Over the last decade across Australia, our cities and our regions have been transforming. In our cities there's been growth in high-skilled jobs, while in rural and regional Australia lower-skilled jobs have been the jobs that have been growing. The skills gap between the cities and the regions is becoming more and more stark, along with the income and employment disparities. These aren't good things. They're certainly not good for the regional and remote communities. Underemployment, increased casualisation and securing regional jobs are three of the biggest challenges facing the Australian community not just now but in future decades. What have we heard from this government? We've heard nothing about a plan. They don't have a plan for now, they don't have a plan for tomorrow and they certainly don't have a plan for the decades to come. This will only occur if we are proactive and innovative and get our education and training practices right. We need to include employers, industry associations and unions in those discussions. This is what's needed if we're to address the challenges in regional Australia. The systematic approach to targeting skills development allows for the monitoring of the labour market and forecasting trends alongside the education and training markets, as well as how skills are being used. Understanding current employment requirements across sectors within a given region is essential to understanding the skills gap within the regional economies. Regional VET institutions, including TAFE in my home state of Tasmania, are key players. They are so essential, and what have we seen over the last two Liberal governments? Attacks and cut after cut to our TAFE institutions. They don't have the plan. The trajectories aren't good, so we need to have those conversations, and they need to be had now if we're to address these challenges. Sectors and institutions are uncertain about their futures, and what they want is certainty of purpose. This uncertainty is what happens when a government spends six years pointing the finger, blaming others, shifting the blame from one to the other and playing wedge politics because all it's interested in is making excuses. We know that they won the election, and they keep talking about how we on this side are still grieving about the election loss. Well, of course we're disappointed, because we know how important it is for the Australian people to have a plan for the economy and to have a plan to address the challenges that we see in regional Australia. Of course we're disappointed, because we know that there are so many Australians who have been relying on a Labor government. That challenge wasn't afforded to us, but the challenge is certainly there, and it's a real challenge. We on this side expect this government to rise to that challenge and to create certainty in people's employment and give them the opportunity to work the additional hours that they're looking for. If you're in a casual job, as we've talked about so often in this place, you can't go and get a mortgage or take out a loan to buy a new car. These are real issues that families in Australia are facing. We see rising costs in day-to-day living—the cost of food, the cost of medicine and the cost of health insurance. The cost of going to see your GP is increasing all the time. Those opposite, who won the election, are still sipping their champagne and celebrating their victory, and they have every right to do that. But they also have a responsibility, after four months, to come up with a plan and to articulate that plan in this chamber and to the Australian community. What we are witnessing is a Prime Minister who is the captain of a team that has no strategy. They are a team without any focus and they are a team without a plan for the future of this country. At the moment, we have a light on bills and we have a light on what this government is supposed to be doing, but what we don't have is a legislative agenda to address those challenges. We live in a wonderful country, but that doesn't mean that we don't have issues that need to be addressed, and it is the incumbent government, which is the Liberal government, that has the responsibility to demonstrate leadership in these areas of the economy. We can talk about all the challenges, such as how difficult it is to get into the housing market and the uncertainty that people have about even trying to find a house to rent. In my home state, we have a housing crisis. If you're in the housing market already, that's good—for you—because house prices are going up. But, if you're a young person or somebody aspiring to get into the housing market, then it is very difficult. We have an increase in homelessness. We have, unfortunately, a casualisation of our workforce that is not healthy. These are the things that have to be addressed. We met these challenges when we were in government. We had the global financial crisis and we dealt with that. We brought in a stimulus to move the economy along, which helped everyone during that period of time. But unfortunately—and it is unfortunate—those opposite don't have that same capacity to address these issues. I know they're probably still a little bit in shock that they've ended up in government, and that's probably why they didn't go to the election with any plans at all except for a tax cut. Well, that tax cut has done nothing to actually stimulate the economy. We're not even sure if people are going to be spending that tax cut. All we know is that they've been very quick to put in their tax returns. But giving people a tax cut does not address the need to drive the economy. That is just lazy politics from a lazy government that is too lazy to even come up with a plan.