Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks to the member for Hasluck for her question and for her contribution to this place as part of a much bigger and much better contingent from WA. When government changed hands in May, Australia had skills shortages, an aged-care crisis, energy policy chaos, a trillion dollars in debt and stagnant wages, and ordinary working people weren't getting a look-in.

Since then, the global economy has deteriorated, and the impacts of the war in Ukraine have become more serious and longer lasting. And that's why, around the world, we are seeing higher energy prices, higher inflation, higher interest rates and the risk of a hard landing in other economies. Developments in China will weigh on global growth as well. These economic pressures come at us from around the world, but we know that they are felt around the kitchen table. Australians are paying a hefty price for Russian aggression and a decade of economic mismanagement here at home.

Let me give you four facts, Mr Speaker. A decade-long policy of deliberate wage suppression delivered nominal wage growth at an average annual rate 40 per cent lower than the last Labor government before it. The average weekly disposable household income grew by just $25 between 2014 and 2020. From 2007 until the pandemic, almost two-thirds of the increase in household income per person—a key indicator of living standards—occurred under the last Labor government. Real wages are lower now than they were 10 years ago as a consequence of all this.

We know we can't fix every single aspect of this overnight, but we can make a difference. That's why our economic plan is focused on responsible cost-of-living relief and getting wages moving again in our economy. We've got a policy for cheaper medicines and for cheaper child care and early childhood education. We've got a policy to train more people for higher wage opportunities. We're taking steps in the energy market in the near term but also in the longer term. We supported a minimum wage for the lowest-paid workers. We support a pay rise for aged-care workers as well, and we are fixing a broken bargaining system.

All the argy-bargy in this place about industrial relations comes down to a simple difference. Those opposite think that there is never a good time for decent wages growth. We want to make it easier for people who work hard to get ahead and to provide for their loved ones, and that's the difference. That's why the election did more than put an end to a wasted decade of missed opportunities and warped priorities. It did more than end the waste and rorts in our budget. It did more than end a policy of deliberate wage suppression from the national government. It began a new and better approach to managing our economy and leading our country in the interests of our people.

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