Job Creation

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:42): A supplementary question arising out of the minister's answer: given the minister's answer, does she accept that after 14 years as a member of the government and now almost 10 years as a minister that she has had a fair go in terms of trying to turn around policies for job creation and perhaps that she is a little tired and it is about time she handed over to someone with fresh ideas in the ministry to help confront the challenges that confront the state in terms of job creation?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:43): As I have always indicated in this place, you can always tell when you have won a point over the Hon. Rob Lucas. You can always tell when you have scored because he then resorts to personal abuse. The problem is he cannot score one on me in terms of the budget—we have a sound explanation and good budget management, a good economy and good government. One of the reasons we have good government is because we have an extremely good leader. The Hon. Jay Weatherill is an outstanding leader, and we have a good cabinet.

As I said, you can always tell when he has lost because he has to resort to personal abuse because he has nowhere else to go. For all these years that he has been a member of parliament, a member of this place, most of that time, three-quarters of that time, he has sat there on the back bench or sat there in opposition. His two glorious moments were in his position as a failed former treasurer. I do not think he ever brought in a surplus budget.

His other big claim to fame is his mastermind, his campaigning mastermind. He was, apparently, one of the masterminds behind the Liberal opposition losing the last election. It was an unlosable election, unlosable, but with a mastermind like the Hon. Rob Lucas as part of the strategy team they lost the unlosable election. So, that is his other claim to fame, being a campaign strategist and mastermind. Apparently, his other big claim to fame is helping to mastermind the loss of Fisher. I stand very pleased and honoured to be a minister in this place. I look forward to my future in any capacity that I am able to serve. I am very proud of my past and, no doubt, will continue to be very proud of the future contributions I make, and I look forward to those.