In March 2019, a Freedom of Information request by Labor revealed that Treasury held "no documents within the scope of your request" regarding modelling or calculations to support Prime Minister Scott Morrison's pledge to create 1.25 million jobs over five years [1].
Morrison made this commitment in January 2019 as part of his pre-election platform, echoing then-Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's earlier pledge to create 1 million jobs ahead of the 2013 election [2].
At Senate estimates, Treasury officials acknowledged that the government's jobs target "would require annual jobs growth of 1.9 per cent, which is higher than the 1.5 per cent or 1.75 per cent assumed in current budget figures" [1].
Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen characterized this as "lazy and reckless," noting that "The Liberal Party is quick to get Treasury to model and cost Labor's policies but they couldn't be bothered getting their own policies modelled" [1].
缺失背景
然而 rán ér , , 该 gāi 主张 zhǔ zhāng 遗漏 yí lòu 了 le 几个 jǐ gè 重要 zhòng yào 的 de 背景 bèi jǐng 要素 yào sù : :
However, the claim omits several important contextual elements:
**1.
Australia's working-age population exceeds 20 million and is growing rapidly, meaning the labour market must create more than 1 million new jobs every five years just to keep pace with population growth [3].
The jobs growth figures therefore need to be understood against this natural demographic expansion, not as purely attributable to government policy [3].
**2.
Quality of jobs created:** The Centre for Future Work analysis notes that part-time jobs accounted for almost half of all jobs created since 2013 under the Coalition, with most being casual positions offering lower wages [3].
This means the "jobs" promise, while numerically met by the previous Abbott target, reflected a shift toward precarious employment rather than full-time permanent positions [3].
**3.
Abbott made the same commitment ahead of 2013 and it was eventually met, though analysts noted Australia was "on track to meet that target anyway" given normal demographic trends [2].
**4.
Morrison's actual achievement claim:** Morrison himself argued that the Coalition had "promised one million jobs going into the 2013 election" and delivered on this, framing it as evidence of economic competence [2].
虽然 suī rán 信息 xìn xī 自由 zì yóu 请求 qǐng qiú 的 de 结果显示 jié guǒ xiǎn shì 没有 méi yǒu 建模 jiàn mó 支持 zhī chí 当前 dāng qián 的 de 125 125 万 wàn 承诺 chéng nuò , , 但 dàn 先前 xiān qián 的 de 100 100 万 wàn 目标 mù biāo 确实 què shí 实现 shí xiàn 了 le [ [ 2 2 ] ] 。 。
While the FOI finding shows no modelling supported the current 1.25 million pledge, the previous 1 million target was achieved [2].
The article cites official government sources (the Treasury FOI response, Senate estimates testimony, and ministerial statements), making it well-sourced.
该 gāi 主张 zhǔ zhāng 还 hái 引用 yǐn yòng 了 le 影子 yǐng zi 财政部长 cái zhèng bù zhǎng Chris Chris Bowen Bowen 的 de 声明 shēng míng , , 这 zhè 代表 dài biǎo 了 le 工党 gōng dǎng 对 duì 该 gāi 问题 wèn tí 的 de 政治 zhèng zhì 观点 guān diǎn 。 。
The claim also references Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen's statement, which represents Labor's political perspective on the issue.
While Bowen is clearly critical of the Coalition, his statement itself is factual—Treasury did provide no modelling—though the characterization as "lazy and reckless" is opinion [1].
**Did Labor do something similar?**
The available evidence suggests Labor's approach to election costings differs from the Coalition's approach to this jobs pledge:
Labor's policies are routinely costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) and sometimes by Treasury, though Treasury traditionally resists providing formal costings for Opposition policies [4].
* * * *
However, Labor typically provides its own detailed policy documents and economic impact statements for major commitments [4].
The distinction appears to be that Labor's major policies are subjected to external scrutiny and costing processes, whereas Morrison's 1.25 million jobs pledge appears to have been announced without any supporting Treasury analysis or government calculation [1].
Chris Bowen's criticism specifically targeted the asymmetry: "The Liberal Party is quick to get Treasury to model and cost Labor's policies but they couldn't be bothered getting their own policies modelled" [1].
**The government's perspective and context:**
Minister Simon Birmingham defended the pledge by pointing to actual results: the Coalition "oversaw the creation of 1.2 million jobs over the last five-and-a-half years instead of the one million promised" and achieved "record growth in youth employment" and "female workforce participation at its highest level ever" [1].
This represents a legitimate counter-argument—the government could point to demonstrated job creation success even if the current pledge lacked modelling.
这 zhè 代表 dài biǎo 了 le 一个 yí gè 合理 hé lǐ 的 de 反驳 fǎn bó 论点 lùn diǎn — — — — 即使 jí shǐ 当前 dāng qián 承诺 chéng nuò 缺乏 quē fá 建模 jiàn mó , , 政府 zhèng fǔ 仍 réng 可以 kě yǐ 指出 zhǐ chū 其 qí demonstrated demonstrated 的 de 就业 jiù yè 创造 chuàng zào 成功 chéng gōng 。 。
However, several important nuances complicate this defence:
**1.
Policy causation:** The Centre for Future Work's research suggests the 1 million jobs created between 2013-2018 may not have been primarily attributable to Coalition policy.
The report notes that "Australia's job-creation record since 2013 has actually been unimpressive" when considered relative to population growth and that "it was only due to a surge in part-time jobs (most of them casual, low-wage positions) that Mr.
Promise vs. standard procedures:** The core issue is not whether jobs could be created, but whether major policy pledges should have supporting analysis before announcement.
The lack of any Treasury modelling, calculation, or even internal government analysis for such a significant commitment represents an unusual approach to policy development [1].
**3.
Asymmetrical accountability:** The claim highlights a legitimate double standard: if Treasury can analyse Labor's policies sufficiently to attack them, it should have been asked to analyse the Coalition's own major pledges [1].
Chris Bowen's observation on this point is factually grounded [1].
**4.
属实
7.0
/ 10
该 gāi 主张 zhǔ zhāng 事实 shì shí 准确 zhǔn què : : Morrison Morrison 确实 què shí 承诺 chéng nuò 了 le 125 125 万个 wàn gè 就业 jiù yè 岗位 gǎng wèi 而 ér 未 wèi 进行 jìn xíng 财政部 cái zhèng bù 建模 jiàn mó , , 这 zhè 一点 yì diǎn 得到 dé dào 了 le 信息 xìn xī 自由 zì yóu 请求 qǐng qiú 回复 huí fù 的 de 证实 zhèng shí , , 以及 yǐ jí 财政部 cái zhèng bù 自身 zì shēn 承认 chéng rèn 该 gāi 目标 mù biāo 超出 chāo chū 其 qí 预算 yù suàn 假设 jiǎ shè [ [ 1 1 ] ] 。 。
The claim is factually accurate: Morrison did promise 1.25 million jobs without Treasury modelling, as confirmed by the FOI response and Treasury's own acknowledgment that the target exceeded their budget assumptions [1].
然而 rán ér , , 该 gāi 主张 zhǔ zhāng 的 de 框架 kuāng jià 遗漏 yí lòu 了 le 关于 guān yú 就业 jiù yè 质量 zhì liàng 、 、 人口 rén kǒu 增长 zēng zhǎng 基线 jī xiàn 以及 yǐ jí Abbott Abbott 先前 xiān qián ( ( 无 wú 建模 jiàn mó ) ) 百万 bǎi wàn 就业 jiù yè 承诺 chéng nuò 实际 shí jì 实现 shí xiàn 情况 qíng kuàng 的 de 重要 zhòng yào 背景 bèi jǐng , , 这些 zhè xiē 使 shǐ " " 违背 wéi bèi 承诺 chéng nuò " " 的 de 简单 jiǎn dān 叙述 xù shù 变得复杂 biàn dé fù zá 。 。
However, the claim's framing omits important context about jobs quality, population growth baselines, and the actual achievement of the previous (unmodelled) 1 million job pledge by Abbott, which complicate the simple narrative of "broken promise."
最终评分
7.0
/ 10
属实
该 gāi 主张 zhǔ zhāng 事实 shì shí 准确 zhǔn què : : Morrison Morrison 确实 què shí 承诺 chéng nuò 了 le 125 125 万个 wàn gè 就业 jiù yè 岗位 gǎng wèi 而 ér 未 wèi 进行 jìn xíng 财政部 cái zhèng bù 建模 jiàn mó , , 这 zhè 一点 yì diǎn 得到 dé dào 了 le 信息 xìn xī 自由 zì yóu 请求 qǐng qiú 回复 huí fù 的 de 证实 zhèng shí , , 以及 yǐ jí 财政部 cái zhèng bù 自身 zì shēn 承认 chéng rèn 该 gāi 目标 mù biāo 超出 chāo chū 其 qí 预算 yù suàn 假设 jiǎ shè [ [ 1 1 ] ] 。 。
The claim is factually accurate: Morrison did promise 1.25 million jobs without Treasury modelling, as confirmed by the FOI response and Treasury's own acknowledgment that the target exceeded their budget assumptions [1].
然而 rán ér , , 该 gāi 主张 zhǔ zhāng 的 de 框架 kuāng jià 遗漏 yí lòu 了 le 关于 guān yú 就业 jiù yè 质量 zhì liàng 、 、 人口 rén kǒu 增长 zēng zhǎng 基线 jī xiàn 以及 yǐ jí Abbott Abbott 先前 xiān qián ( ( 无 wú 建模 jiàn mó ) ) 百万 bǎi wàn 就业 jiù yè 承诺 chéng nuò 实际 shí jì 实现 shí xiàn 情况 qíng kuàng 的 de 重要 zhòng yào 背景 bèi jǐng , , 这些 zhè xiē 使 shǐ " " 违背 wéi bèi 承诺 chéng nuò " " 的 de 简单 jiǎn dān 叙述 xù shù 变得复杂 biàn dé fù zá 。 。
However, the claim's framing omits important context about jobs quality, population growth baselines, and the actual achievement of the previous (unmodelled) 1 million job pledge by Abbott, which complicate the simple narrative of "broken promise."