Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Blair for the question and for his fierce commitment to getting wages moving in Australia. This government is committed to lifting wages, to fighting inflation, to strengthening Medicare and to building more houses. Those opposite, throughout all of the arguments we've had with respect to lifting wages, have opposed it every single time—right from the election campaign, when the Prime Minister was asked whether or not wages should keep up with inflation and he answered with one word, which was, 'Absolutely.' When those opposite heard it, they thought it was a mistake. They couldn't picture the concept of conviction for working people. They had no way of handling it.

They then came up with their different arguments when we introduced the legislation to get wages moving. Firstly they claimed it would be inflationary and yet, while wages have been rising, inflation has halved. They then claimed there'd be crippling economy-wide strikes. Strikes are now running at one-sixth the rate they were under the previous government. That's right: in the final quarter for the previous government, the number of days lost to industrial action was six times higher than it is now. So why would it be that they voted against pay rises for Australian workers 48 times? Why would it be that they have done that? Why would it be that they are so committed to opposing the concept of people earning more and keeping what they earn? They've done it every single time.

Our approach to the minimum wage, the Annual Wage Review, has been to go in every time and argue for wages to be improved so that people don't go backwards. We have done it every single time. They had a complete opposition to that approach; instead their approach was for low wage growth to be a deliberate design feature of their economic management, and they delivered it. Successfully, for a decade, wages flatlined. As a result of the changes of policy of this Prime Minister and as a result of the changes of law of this government, what have been the outcomes? The minimum wage over the three annual wage reviews has now gone up by 18½ per cent in the life of this government—that's the people who are the lowest paid in Australia earning $7,451 extra a year. Those on award wages have had a 14.8 per cent increase over the life of this government. Aged-care workers have had a 15 per cent increase, opposed by those opposite. Early educators have had a 15 per cent increase, opposed by those opposite. The gender pay gap is at the lowest level it's ever been since records began because of legislation opposed by those opposite. Mineworkers, cabin crew and meatworkers are all earning more and keeping more of what they earn.

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