TIM PALLAS (Werribee – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Trade and Investment) (14:26): The Andrews Labor government knows that there are challenges facing Victorians in dealing with the inflation that is peaking right across the globe and making it harder for families to meet the rising cost of living. We also know that the best protection that Victorians can have against those buffeting winds of uncertainty is a well-paid job, and we are going about delivering that in very tangible terms. Some of my colleagues here may well remember the member for Kew’s inaugural speech, when she said that it is business that creates jobs, not government. Well, she was half right. Those opposite showed us during their last term in office that coalition governments do in fact not create jobs. But as we have seen since the 2014 election, Labor governments can and do create jobs. Since September 2020 this government has overseen the creation of almost 400 –

A member interjected.

Tim PALLAS: So unemployment is now just 3.7 per cent, a full three percentage points lower than the rate we inherited in 2014. The regional unemployment rate is lower still – just 2.8 per cent, the lowest ever on record. For this reason the government is making real efforts to ensure that we continue to invest in jobs and training. We have expanded the eligibility for free TAFE, we have introduced the lowest payroll tax rate in the nation in regional Victoria and we have passed groundbreaking –

A member interjected.