Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

We do take the issue of inflation very seriously. It erodes living conditions. It attacks wages. It really is a threat to the sustained growth of the Australian economy. Our industrial relations system will guard against wage inflation because it will be underpinned by workplace-level enterprise bargaining. That is what it will be underpinned by, meaning changes in wages must be linked to productivity. That is what our system will do. And it will provide flexibility at the individual level. This government will put in place a fair and balanced industrial relations system. Along with our investment in skills, we will do everything we can to lift productivity in this economy. Nothing is more important in the fight against inflation than improving our productivity performance, and all of our package is aimed at doing that.

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