Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Fair Work Commission recently announced an 8.6 per cent increase to the minimum wage and a 5.75 per cent pay rise for those on award wages, the biggest increase in history, helping 2.7 million Australians with the rising cost of living. It's no secret that inflation is putting pressure on Australian households. However, despite what those opposite would have you believe, it is not exorbitant wages for our lowest-paid workers that are driving inflation. In fact, real unit labour cost, the average cost of labour per unit of output produced in the economy, is six per cent lower than it was pre pandemic. As the RBA has noted, most of the inflation in our economy is being driven by supply-side factors such as the war in Ukraine and busted supply chains which are a legacy of a decade of Liberal neglect. Despite some of the commentary from the Liberals and others, working Australians are not to blame for the inflationary pressures in our economy, and paying them less is not the solution. The Liberals spent nine years in government deliberately suppressing wages, cutting support and underfunding health and education. Now, not satisfied with that inglorious record, the Liberals want to continue punishing working Australians from the opposition benches. The Albanese government has a plan to clean up this Liberal mess. After inheriting a $77.9 billion deficit and a trillion dollars of Liberal debt, we'll get on with fixing our economy. (Time expired)