MR PALLAS (Werribee—Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Trade) (14:37):

It gives me great pleasure to address this chamber to update it on the incredible job creation that is happening right across the state of Victoria. Our unemployment rate is at a record low of 3.1 per cent. But that is not all: our regional unemployment rate is even lower at 2.9 per cent. That is the lowest of all the states, and it is the lowest on record. With the national jobs summit this week, Victoria can proudly say that there is no better place to study and to work than Victoria. Since we took over from the sloth and indolence of those opposite, we have added more than 600 000 new jobs, including more than 325 000 since September 2020. We have slashed the unemployment rate by more than half since November 2014. This record is built on the back of our large infrastructure agenda, our nation-leading free TAFE initiative and our targeted investment in growth industries.

Of course Australians are starting to notice the economic revolution that is going on in Victoria. I saw that Peter Dutton recently ventured into Victoria for the first time in recent memory. I trust that he felt safe choosing one of Melbourne’s fine restaurants or indeed that he enjoyed one of our fine shows. The Leader of the Opposition, if he is looking for some alternative employment because the opposition leader gig does not work for him, I would invite him to consider moving to Victoria to try his hand at something new. In Warrnambool, in the south-west, for example, unemployment is at just 1.2 per cent. Geelong has 2.4 per cent. Metropolitan Melbourne is at just 3.3 per cent. Things are happening in this state, and people are getting employed in droves.