Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's not hard to see the chasm between the Liberal opposition and the Albanese government, especially in wages policy. We see the true difference between the major parties, and it underscores the hypocrisy of each and every coalition member, in this place and the other, when they try to speak coherently about the cost of living. In contrast, when the Albanese government sees workers doing it tough, we make sure we do what we can to assist them with the cost of living. Just as we supported rises for aged-care workers, we now have an early childcare sector that is the beneficiary of a 15 per cent pay rise for early childcare workers. United Workers Union members, today I congratulate you. Your tireless representation of and advocacy for childhood educators has made a huge difference to them and to the 1.2 million families across this nation who now know that those looking after their children are getting fair pay.

I echo the words of the Prime Minister: this is good for workers, good for children, good for families and absolutely good for the economy. I applaud this effort and our concern and action to support all workers in this country. Those opposite have the temerity to stand in this place and try to pretend that they care about the cost of living, but we know it will be a cold day in hell before we see the miserable opposition support any sort of pay rise for workers in this nation.

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