Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Unlike those opposite, I'm optimistic about the future of this country and I back the ambition of Australians who want to go to TAFE and to university and secure a well-paying job. I'm really delighted to be able to speak about our track record here and what our vision is for skills and jobs in the future.

We know that already we've delivered 355,000 fee-free TAFE places, and there are an additional 320,000 places to come. This week we saw the Fair Work Commission announce that the lowest paid workers in the country would receive a 3.75 per cent wage increase. This is an incredibly important development for those workers. It's more money in their pockets. In listening to the Fair Work Commission discuss their decision, there will be special attention being paid to feminised work and workforces by the commission in the future, and I welcome that.

Our government said we were going to deliver for workers, and we're doing that. We have backed and funded a 15 per cent pay rise for aged-care workers. We've introduced paid family and domestic violence leave, and it's really important to note here that this is for every worker, including casual workers. I remember the day that this was introduced into the parliament and the day it was passed in the parliament. They were emotional days. While we sat in the chamber, we had advocates sitting in the galleries who could attest to how life-saving this measure would be.

We've introduced the secure jobs, better pay bill; we've ended zombie agreements; and we are unapologetic about our support for ensuring that Australia's lowest paid workers get a pay rise. In fact, I stood with the Prime Minister—before he was the Prime Minister, prior to the last election—when he was asked if he supported a $1 pay rise for Australia's lowest paid workers. We all know the answer to that question. It was 'Absolutely'. Unfortunately those opposite and commentators found that response contemptible. He was mocked. It was outrageous. On this of the House we don't apologise for supporting Australia's lowest paid workers having a pay increase in line with their cost-of-living expenses. Presumably, seeing the 3.75 per cent pay increase would have made those opposite apoplectic if they could not handle a $1 an hour pay increase back then. We would not apologise for this. I really do urge those opposite to join with us and back the lowest paid workers in the country, who work so hard to provide care and services that we and our families and the communities that we represent rely on.

Under our government, since the election, nominal wages have been growing at an annualised average of 3.9 per cent compared to 2.2 per cent under our predecessors, and, of course, we've delivered IR reforms through the closing loopholes legislation. This is really important. We have criminalised wage theft. We've stopped the underpayment of workers with labour hire through same job, same pay, which is part of the closing loopholes legislation. We've introduced a new criminal offence of industrial manslaughter. I would have thought everybody in this place could agree that workers should be able to go to work and come home safely.

We have also introduced world-leading minimum standards for gig economy workers. We've ended the forced permanent casual loophole and we're offering a proper pathway to casual conversion. In my first speech I spoke about the importance of ensuring that people in our community have secure work so that they could plan their lives. I'm really glad that we have taken the step to assist people navigate a pathway to secure work that allows them and their families to plan and build their lives in all of our electorates—to spend time at the local footy club, to commit to volunteer work on weekends—because there is certainty of hours and wages. I'm proud that the measures we've introduced as a government will set up the VET and university sectors to address future skills shortages and cost-of-living pressures for students, including by investing in the Commonwealth prac payments, where we will provide $369.2 million for teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students to do placements in higher education and ensuring, too, that we are doing what we can to reduce the burden of student debt.

I know this is really important to my electorate of Chisholm. I've had hundreds of people speak to me about this issue. We are getting on with building a better future and not leaving everyone behind. I'm really proud about the measures that we've introduced in this portfolio area.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives

Sitting suspended from 17:15 to 17:24

Proposed expenditure agreed to.

Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts Portfolio

Proposed expenditure, $5,783,392,000

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