Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Minister, how will the secure jobs, better pay bill help address cost-of-living pressures for working Australians by getting wages moving again?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Paterson for her commitment to working people in her electorate. It's interesting that those opposite, when they want to talk about the cost of living, will never talk about how money gets into your bank account in the first place. They will never talk about what happens in terms of wages in this country. The secure jobs, better pay bill will get wages moving again, and that's why those opposite oppose it. If you put gender equality as an objective of the award system in Australia, that helps get wages moving in this country. If you improve how the Fair Work Commission considers equal remuneration and work value cases, that helps get wages moving in this country. If you ban pay secrecy clauses, that helps get wages moving in this country.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Barker will cease interjecting.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If you give the Fair Work Commission the expertise to be able to better determine pay equity cases, that helps get wages moving in this country. If you get rid of zombie agreements, where people are still on the same agreements that they were on when John Howard was Prime Minister of this country, then that helps get wages moving in this country. If you simplify the better off overall test to make sure that it's fair, to make sure that no worker can be worse off, that helps get wages moving in this country. If you open up bargaining, which delivers flexibility and productivity for business while at the same time delivering pay increases for workers, that's going to help get wages moving in this country. If you ban job ads—make it unlawful to advertise a job ad—for less than the legal minimum, then that helps get wages moving in this country.

But we know from the shadow Treasurer that that in fact is their problem with this bill. The shadow Treasurer knows, as he answered when asked by Laura Jayes about multiemployer bargaining, 'Well, it pushes up wages.'

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Hume, on a point of order.

Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd just draw your attention to standing order 68. The comment that the minister just made is false.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister is reading a quote from a media report. I'll just ask the minister to clarify where he is reading that document from and continue with his answer.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was said on television. It was on Sky News. I can go with a different quote. In fairness to the shadow Treasurer, I'll use a different quotation that was also used on television. It wasn't the shadow Treasurer, so this one won't upset him. In a doorstop delivered in the Northern Territory a similar question was asked of the Leader of the Opposition, where the Leader of the Opposition was asked whether he had concerns about proposed changes to the industrial relations laws. He began by saying he was 'deeply concerned for businesses', and then he went on to mention why:

… it's going to result in higher wages …

Those opposite do oppose everything in this bill, and they oppose it for the exact reason that we support it: it will get wages moving again.