Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm that, as well as cutting real wages over the next four years, his government has also refused to back an increase to the minimum wage, has cut penalty rates and has also intervened in a High Court case to rip away pay from long-term workers in insecure work? How do you rack up $1 trillion of debt yet still be so determined to cut workers' wages?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I don't accept the assertions put forward by the member who came to the dispatch box on these issues. The submissions that were made by the government to the Fair Work process are the same as those that have been made by the government over many years. In fact, they reflect exactly the same submissions that were also put forward by the previous government, including during the GFC where they made similar observations regarding the impact on the labour market at a time of economic crisis. But I do note that it was the practice under the member for Maribyrnong when it related to those processes that the Labor Party would make submissions to that Fair Work process—not so under this Leader of the Opposition. This Leader of the Opposition is so keen to talk about these issues out there but, when it comes to actually submitting a case, once again, he has a bet each way.