CHRIS UHLMANN: Unemployment has hit its highest level in a decade at 6 per cent with 720,000 people now out of work. The last time that many people were on the dole queue was in the late 1990s. It's a big challenge for a new government that's promised to create a million jobs over five years.

The Employment Minister is Eric Abetz.

Mr Abetz, good morning.

ERIC ABETZ: Good morning.

CHRIS UHLMANN: The employment numbers we know are a lagging indicator of what's actually happening. There are reports of other job losses in recent days so things could actually be worse than the numbers we're seeing in the official figures, couldn't they?

ERIC ABETZ: Regrettably the unemployment surge is continuing. The previous Labor government actually budgeted for an unemployment rate of 6.2... or 5.75 per cent and then just before the election Treasury updated that to a figure of 6.25 per cent.

That is the Coalition's task to drive that figure down but we are still having the wash through from the previous Labor government. It's a social scourge, it's an economic scourge and that is why we as a Coalition are absolutely concentrating on reducing the unemployment statistics in our country.

CHRIS UHLMANN: And what's your plan to fix it?

ERIC ABETZ: Our plan was put out to the electorate before the last election. We want to develop a diverse economy, a five pillar economy of agricultural exports, education and research, mining exports, manufacturing innovation and advanced services. And the first steps we said were abolish the carbon tax, abolish the mining tax and reinstitute the Australian Building and Construction Commission, assist us in getting Greenfield agreements up and running. So we've got the legislation there and regrettably the Green/Labor alliance in the Senate is blocking our job creation.

CHRIS UHLMANN: We might come to that in a moment but if you really believe, as many small business people do, that penalty rates are stopping business from employing and they're really at the root cause of all this, why don't you move to change that law now?

ERIC ABETZ: The penalty rates and what people are paid has always been determined by either the Australian Industrial Relations Commission or the Fair Work Commission. We have allowed the independent umpire in Australia to make that determination. If a government were to start legislating industrial awards, you would be legislating all day, every day on people's conditions. We have an independent umpire.

CHRIS UHLMANN: But why wait three, you clearly want to attack the industrial relations system, to do something about it - why wait three years to begin to make that sort of change? Isn't that completely reckless if you think that's at the heart of the problem?

ERIC ABETZ: Chris, it would be reckless if what you are saying is true. We went to the last election with a 38-page policy on workplace relations reform to change the right of entry, bring in the Australian Building and Construction Commission. We wanted to curtail, we wanted to curtail the length, the Greenfields agreements getting up, and so the list goes on.

We have a detailed 38-page platform that we are seeking to implement along with a Productivity Commission Review of the total Fair Work Act - something that Labor failed and indeed refused to undertake.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Certainly, but Burchell Wilson who's the chief economist from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry says that's its entirely regrettable that substantial workforce reform isn't happening now, that's it's being delayed.

ERIC ABETZ: Well, the problem is that the reforms that we want such as getting the Australian Building and Construction Commission up and running again, vitally important to drive the productivity effort of our nation, is being blocked in the Senate by the Green/Labor alliance majority. And until those numbers change on the 1st of July, we are going to be confronted with a group of senators that absolutely resent the decision of the Australian people of the 7th of September last year and are refusing to allow our reforms to go through.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Alright though, to be clear, you're saying that once those reforms go through that they will create jobs - how many jobs?

ERIC ABETZ: We believe that there is no doubt that the carbon tax was destroying jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector. It continues to do so and what business wants is the certainty of its removal. Similarly the mining tax, if we get rid of that, that will help the resources sector which is starting to lag and lag badly, and that is one of Australia's strengths so why you want to tax that out of existence, nobody knows.

Yet again, Labor and the Greens are refusing to allow us to get that reform through the Senate and as a result restimulate the resources sector.

CHRIS UHLMANN: Eric Abetz, we'll have to leave it there. Thank you.

ERIC ABETZ: Thank you.

CHRIS UHLMANN: And that's the Employment Minister Eric Abetz.