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

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that the Government was elected on the promise of getting wages moving again after a decade of deliberate wage stagnation under the previous Government;

(2) notes that Australian Bureau of Statistics' data released in August, and new analysis, shows that:

(a) the average earnings of a full-time worker increased 3.9 per cent in the first year of the Government, in dollar terms, an extra $3,700 per year;

(b) the average worker is earning $1,400 more than they would have because of the higher rate of wages growth under the Government compared to if wages had continued to grow at the sluggish pace they did under our predecessors; and

(c) low paid workers are receiving the largest pay rises;

(3) further notes that the Government's economic plan is all about getting wages moving in a sustainable way by:

(a) securing a pay rise for minimum and award wage earners;

(b) funding a wage rise for aged care workers;

(c) changing our industrial relations laws to support secure jobs and better pay; and

(d) funding more TAFE and university places and investing in strategic industries to help deliver well-paid jobs into the future; and

(4) acknowledges this is another example of the Government working for Australia and delivering on our election commitments to build a better future for Australians.

After nearly a decade of mismanagement and neglect from the Liberals, the Albanese Labor government is delivering on our commitment to create a fairer industrial setting for Australian workers. Central to this commitment was our promise to get wages moving again after years of deliberate wage suppression by the Liberal Party. In the 10 years before Labor came to government, the Liberals oversaw flatlining real wages, the worst decade for productivity in over 50 years and the accumulation of a trillion dollars of Liberal debt. Australian workers were being left out in the cold, and our economy was suffering as a result.

That's why repairing our industrial relations system and investing in our workforce was a central part of our election platform 18 months ago and remains a central part of our agenda today. We understand that delivering strong wage growth and improved conditions for Australian workers will not only put more money in workers' pockets but also set our economy up to be more prosperous into the future. Strong and sustainable wages growth is a deliberate design feature of our economic plan to lift productivity and grow the economic pie for all Australians.

In particular, the Albanese Labor government is committed to lifting the wages of minimum and award wage earners. In our very first week in government, as part of the annual wage review, we made a submission to the Fair Work Commission arguing that, when the cost of living is rising, our lowest-paid workers shouldn't be going backwards. In response to our submission and to many others, the national minimum wage was increased by 5.2 per cent. With the cost of living continuing to put pressure on workers, we made the same argument again this year, and the national minimum wage was increased by 8.6 per cent, while award wages increased by 5.75 per cent. These increases are the largest on record and will ensure that millions of Australians, including in my electorate of Hawke, will receive a fair wage in exchange for their hard work.

The Albanese Labor government has also made significant changes to industrial relations laws to lift pay and conditions of workers more broadly. Our secure jobs, better pay bill, which passed last year, was the first step. It restored balance at the bargaining table, improving the capacity of workers to get a fair deal while also lifting pay equity and job security. The next step is our closing the loopholes bill, which is currently before the House. The legislation will close the labour hire loophole that companies use to undercut genuine workplace agreements, empower the Fair Work Commission to set minimum standards for gig workers, improve pathways to permanent employment and, importantly, criminalise wage theft.

The evidence is clear that the Albanese Labor government's legislative agenda is delivering the wage growth that we promised. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that the average full-time worker earned 3.9 per cent, or $3,700, more in the first year of this Labor government. Excluding during the pandemic, this is the fastest rate in a decade and significantly faster than the 2.4 per cent average under the previous Liberal government. In fact, the average worker is $1,400 better off thanks to the increasing wages growth under the Albanese Labor government compared to if wages had continued their trajectory under the Liberals.

Despite the clear success of our advocacy and legislative changes, we have unfortunately not enjoyed bipartisan support. Indeed, not content with their abysmal decade in government, the Liberals continue to attempt to keep wages low for Australian workers at every turn. Indeed, at every opportunity the Liberals have not only tried to stop our efforts to see workers fairly compensated, but they have also ignored the evidence that sustainable and sensible wage increases are exactly what our economy needs. The Liberals suppression of wages brought with it a record decline in productivity growth and left our economy incredibly vulnerable.

The Albanese Labor government's economic plan will increase wages for Australian workers, lift productivity and create a more sustainable and prosperous economy for all Australians.

Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There we have it: 'The Australian public have never had it better. How lucky is the Australian public?' I want to commend the member for Hawke for this motion. I don't think I could see a better motion that actually highlights how out of touch the Albanese government actually is. Wages are up. Of course they're up, because inflation is through the roof. What they don't talk about is real wages. They were happy to talk a lot about real wages during the election campaign—and let's be honest, this is another example of ALP spin. They think if they put a few numbers in a motion that the public won't understand that it's harder than ever. But real wages are crucial, because that's wage growth and inflation; it's whether you have more money in your pocket every week to pay the bills and enjoy your life.

So what did the Treasurer, when he was shadow Treasurer, say about real wages in the election? On 21 November 2021, he said:

… petrol prices are skyrocketing, real wages are going down and working families are going backwards, and I think that should be central to an election about the economy, about living standards and about the Prime Minister's failures on economic management.

That was the shadow Treasurer on 21 November 2021 on real wages. He was very clear. I could have pulled out hundreds and hundreds of quotes from those opposite about real wages.

And what did the then opposition leader now Prime Minister say? He said, 'It's about the failure of economic management.' Quoting then opposition leader Anthony Albanese on 17 March, he said, 'A Labor government will lower the cost of living.' On 1 May, in his campaign launch speech—so it's not on the fly, it's not off a question; this was prepared and in his campaign launch speech. He said:

Labor has real, lasting plans for

That was his plan.

We talked about wages before and we talked about real wages, and I note the member for Hawke didn't want to give any numbers on real wages. Let's look at how they've gone under this government: September 2022, real wages were negative 4.1 per cent for the quarter; December 2022, real wages were negative 4.4 per cent for the quarter; March 2023, real wages were negative 3.3 per cent for the quarter; and June 2023, real wages were negative 2.4 per cent for the quarter. And this government insults the Australian people by coming in here today and patting themselves on the back and telling themselves what a great job they're doing. Well the Australian public have worked them out. They know they've been distracted for the first 18 months of this government. They know they have no plans to make life easier for Australians.

In the 12 months to June, Australian household income fell 5.1 per cent. That's the most in the OECD. The UK, as a comparison, up 2.2 per cent. The US, up 3.5 per cent. And our friends in Spain, up six per cent. You'll hear spin from this Prime Minister and this Treasurer talking about global factors. Well, those factors are not impacting Spain, and they're not impacting the US or the UK. Every other country in the OECD is doing better on household income than Australia. What's the common thread? It's the Albanese Labor government, which has no plans for addressing the cost of living for the Australian people.

Those opposite talk about the independent Fair Work Commission. They're very happy to put in this motion how great it is that there was a minimum pay rise for the lowest earners—the work of the independent Fair Work Commission—but it's more spin. When the independent Reserve Bank of Australia increases interest rates, they walk away from the Reserve Bank at a million miles an hour. They'll take all the credit for the independent Fair Work Commission, but they'll pass the buck on the independent Reserve Bank of Australia.

Every time there is an economic decision to be made in this country, this government makes the wrong decision, and Australians know it. They feel it every time they go to the petrol browser. Petrol was $2.25 per litre when I was driving to the airport last night. They were happy to complain when it was $1.79, but they've got no plans to improve the cost of living for Australians, and we all know it.

Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hawke for this important motion, as it gives me the opportunity to reflect upon our government's record in getting the policy settings on wages moving in the right direction after some very dark times under the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments. Those opposite believe their legacy to be saturated in a non-stick coating when it comes to any form of accountability. To them, it's an art form. Both in this place and in the media, those opposite debate on wages, interest rates, inflation and the economy with the subtlety of a sledgehammer and a cutting edge to match. They go about this debate, particularly during an MPI, as if our economy exists in some Petri dish—a controlled environment that ignores both external economic pressures and any negative consequences of the actions taken when they were in government. Many measures required begging and pleading for them to implement, especially once we'd seen what other developed nations were doing to keep their economies going.

In the afterglow of governments in developed economies spending big, central banks across the world raised interest rates. The RBA did precisely that while those opposite were in government, although they are not so eager to claim credit for any of that. They suddenly appear very humble about their role in this. Why is that? Their conduct in opposition is as hard to swallow as anything you try to drink from a 'back in black' coffee mug—a real collector's item. It's the cognitive dissonance for me. Recently, I heard comments in the media from Senator Hume, as part of a heated debate about inflation, and we saw exactly this: zero liability, total credit for the by-products that contributed to it, and zero credibility.

Their arguments about defining what constitutes good and bad debt or spending were always political, not economic. One government's debt and budget deficits are another's debt and deficit disaster. With those opposite, there are a handful of things you can count on. You can count on them, in government or in opposition, to do everything they can to keep wages down. It's important to note this, as real wage growth takes two to tango—wage growth moving to outpace inflation.

Let's examine what they really think about the wages of everyday Australians going up. For starters, they baked low wage growth into their economic policy. Many of us still vividly remember when the former finance minister—no, not the member for Cook, but Mattias Cormann—accidentally said the quiet part out loud and proudly admitted to low wage growth being not just a reality through the lifespan of their government but, in fact, government policy. I don't know why they are so coy about this now.

Those opposite, when in government—even to the bitter end—had the audacity to attack Labor for standing up for the lowest paid workers in Australia and making submissions to raise the minimum wage. This led to a 5.2 per cent increase to the minimum wage last year, with a further 8.6 per cent increase awarded by the Fair Work Commission earlier this year. Did the opposition consider this to be positive, or did they criticise this as being dangerous and inflationary? I think by now the answer should be obvious. Where were those opposite when the Albanese government moved to lift wages for our workers in aged care? It's a sector with some of the lowest paid workers, a sector that needs more workers today and will need even more workers tomorrow, and a sector that employs thousands of people within my electorate of Spence. However, by listening to members opposite speak on industrial relations over the past few sitting weeks, it is clear that their response to wage raises has been, 'Now is not the time'—every single time. They didn't even have a plan to curb inflation when they saw it rising, and they still don't. This is coupled with a policy on wages growth that can at best be described as Darwinian. They have the gall to complain that real wages aren't rising fast enough when they did nothing to stop inflation creeping steadily higher on their watch, and had their finger on the scale of wage increases during their time in government. Unlike those opposite, an Albanese Labor government pledges strong and sustainable wage growth as a deliberate design feature of our economic plan.

As inflation continues to moderate, our government will continue with our policies on wage growth, doing so alongside sensible cost-of-living relief, all while those opposite continue to play backseat—or maybe backbench—driver. They continue to play politics and offer little other than a rolled-goal assurance that they would have done better somehow.

Garth Hamilton (Groom, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker Andrews, what a joy it is to be contributing to this debate under your wise and judicious stewardship. Sadly, it's a tale of woe I bring because, having listened to the previous two government speakers, I can say Marie Antoinette could not have done it by herself—let them eat cake! Real wages might be going backwards, but let them have nominal wage growth! It's so out of touch, so condescending and so untethered to even the slightest bound of reality. Real wages have gone backwards. Inflation has outstripped wages growth, which means that when you do see a nominal wage increase you are going backwards because your doll is worth less. The value of your dollar is shrinking faster than your pay is rising. In fact, the only thing shrinking faster than the value of your dollar is this government's commitment to tackling inflation.

Crowing about nominal wage growth might sound great in here, but out in the real world, out in the working-class suburbs that are walking away from Labor—as the polling shows for this Whitlam-era government—real wage growth is what matters, and real wage growth is going backwards. People of Australia, if you're wondering why you are being paid more but can afford less—this is why. Real wage growth is going backwards. The cost of everything is going up faster than your wages are. This is because this government have refused to drive down inflation and commit to it. They tried their hardest to lay the blame on the war in Ukraine at the start, but that is no longer the case. They tried to tell us that every economy is in the same boat, but the UK is the only country, amongst modern Western nations, that has higher inflation than us.

Labor have a problem, but the situation didn't need to be this bad. Over the last 18 months, Labor simply have not done enough to tame inflation—their focus has been elsewhere. Australia, are you worried about how big your grocery bill will be next week? Don't fret, because this government have an Assistant Minister for the Republic! How's that for laser-like focus on the big issues? Are you worried about your next energy bill? Don't fret, because this government just wasted 18 months on a referendum that could not have been more soundly defeated! Are you worried about the latest interest rates rise and what it will lose your mortgage? Don't fret, because last summer the Treasurer wrote 6,000 words on how he's going to rewrite capitalism! Australia, inflation is an issue for you because it's not an issue for Labor.

What have Labor done in government? Let us apply some generosity here. They've increased spending by $185 billion. They've put on, as we saw over the weekend, another 10,000 public servants just here in Canberra. They've introduced productivity-killing pattern-bargaining, despite promising they wouldn't, and investment-killing price caps on the gas industry. They've opened the floodgates to more than half a million more people coming to Australia in the middle of a housing crisis. That's what they've done. What has been the result? Sadly, rents are rising about their highest rates since 2009. As we have heard many times, repayments on a $750,000 mortgage are up by $22,000. Workers are paying 15 per cent more on their income tax, and gas bills are rising and will continue to rise.

Nominal wage growth will not fix these problems, and these problems are important and very relevant because these are the exact promises Labor made to the Australian people to get them into government. Labor promised, 'We will be doing our bit to assist real wage increases.' They haven't done that. They have failed on that. Real wages are going backwards, and they're going backwards at a shocking rate. Labor promised cheaper mortgages—tell me anyone who has experienced that. Labor promised to cut your electricity bill by $275. That hasn't happened either. Labor promised lower inflation. This government haven't kept their promises. Now they are trying to tell us that nominal wage growth is more important than real wage decline.

I'm surprised this motion even got through the government's tactics committee, quite frankly, after the ABC, that great mouthpiece of Labor vitriol and propaganda, could not even bring itself to swallow this sort of nonsense. When the Treasurer tried to claim that the average full-time worker is $3,700 better off per year under Labor, the ABC found that to be misleading. Not even their ABC could support their position. On this point, isn't it extraordinary that this government, which have been called out by the ABC for misleading the public on an issue so significant and unequivocal as the financial situation of Australian workers, is the government that wants to bring about a bill on misinformation?

I note point 4 on this motion moves that the House 'acknowledges this is another example of the government working for Australia and delivering on our election commitments to build a better future for Australians'. Once again, how out of touch could you possibly be? In a Resolve poll, just eight per cent of Australians expect the economy to improve in the next 12 months. They don't think Labor is building a better future. Sixty-four per cent think inflation will worsen. Here's the good one: 60 per cent of Australians do not think their incomes have kept up with inflation over the past year. Sixty is an interesting number. It's the same percentage of people who soundly rejected the government's position on the Voice. Once again, this Labor government is so out of touch with the Australian people, and it could not have more of a hurtful impact at this time.

Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

COKER () (): I'd like to begin by thanking the member for Hawke for moving this important motion today. Wages growth under the Albanese government is working, and locals in my electorate are telling me that it is making a difference to their lives. I recently visited Torquay's aged-care workers at Villa Maria Catholic Homes Star of the Sea, who were celebrating a 15 per cent wage rise after the Fair Work Commission's much anticipated increase to award rates earlier this year.

It is here that I met Sarbjeet Kaur, a generous-hearted young woman who simply wants to give back to her community. That's why she grasped fee-free TAFE with both hands, completing an aged-care course at Gordon TAFE. She now works in my electorate of Corangamite. Sarbjeet told me she believed the wage rise was helpful and would attract others to the profession. It's not an easy job, and their wages have been too low for too long. Sarbjeet also said fee-free TAFE has helped her to get the job that she truly cares about. She said:

I really enjoy this job. Sometimes I feel like crying when I see the residents. We are here for them. We care for them. We try to give everything for them.

These words are heartfelt.

The Albanese government recognises that better wages mean a better life. We also recognise that a wage incentive will encourage more Australians to train and work in sectors such as aged care, where we need more carers—more carers like Sarbjeet. That's why our government and the Minister for Aged Care have acted, with a significant 15 per cent wage increase for aged-care workers.

From meeting with workers and residents at Torquay, I was pleased to hear the government's reforms had been embraced by local workers and businesses. The staff are doing amazing work on the Surf Coast. Star of the Sea's acting CEO, David Williamson, expressed his support for the government's reforms, noting the pay rise was recognition of the important work of nurses and care staff. He was hopeful the boost would attract more workers to his organisation, given the current sector-wide workforce shortage challenges.

When it comes to wages growth, we are working for Australia across a number of fronts. The Albanese government has delivered the first budget surplus in 15 years and seen wages grow at the fastest rate in a decade, with over 561,000 jobs created since we came to office—an impressive record for a new government.

I know families in my electorate of Corangamite and across the country are being hit hard by the cost of living. Therefore, the Albanese government's No. 1 priority remains addressing this inflation and cost-of-living challenge. We have targeted a comprehensive $23 billion plan to help address the pressures in the economy. This includes cheaper medicines, fee-free TAFE, electricity bill relief, the boosting of income support payments, cheaper childcare, increased rent assistance, more Medicare bulk-billing, the expansion of paid parental leave, the boosting of income support payments and more affordable homes being built.

On top of this, we've successfully advocated for wage increases for minimum and award-wage workers, and we're funding pay rises for aged-care workers. Recent results show the unemployment rate remained around historic lows, at 3.6 per cent, and the participation rate was 66.7 per cent, near the record high recorded recently.

While we welcome these results, we are realistic about the challenges ahead. While our labour force remains resilient, high interest rates, high but moderating inflation and growing uncertainty in the global economy are still having an impact on our economy. Rate rises are clearly biting hard, consumption is slowing, retail turnover is soft, and households and businesses are feeling that pressure. That is why our primary focus is on the cost of living, doing all we can to reduce its impact while also laying the foundations for a stronger economy, and building a more dynamic and inclusive labour market.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Thursday, I met with some good-hearted people, people who are concerned about the aged-care sector: Jeff Hay and Fran Hatty from the Tocumwal Lions Community Hostel. They're not in my electorate but in the neighbouring electorate of Farrer. Also there were John Knight and Ross Tout from Uralba at Gundagai. They are very concerned about what is happening in aged care, particularly around the 24/7 registered nursing model. This private member's motion talks about funding a wage rise for aged-care workers. There's not much point in giving aged-care workers a wage rise if there is not an aged-care facility there. Indeed, Ms Hatty has said to me: 'Let's hope we can keep these little places going. In my opinion, they are the perfect place for our local people needing extra care as they age.'

The situation we have in country centres at the moment is that, if Labor continues to push ahead with 24/7 RNs, what you're going to see is many of those country aged-care facilities close because they can't meet that demand. In a facility such as Junee, where there are 19 or so residents, that means they probably need four or five RNs. They're very difficult to find in a community of that size, let alone a community of 70,000 people, such as Wagga Wagga.

This is about jobs. As the member for Groom pointed out, real wages have gone down under Labor. It's a simple fact. Don't take just the member for Groom's word and my word for it. ABC Fact Check has clearly stated that wages are under pressure because of the policies brought about by the government.

I'm proud of our record in government. For nine years, we put small business, workers and those people who help run the economy first and foremost. I look at my own electorate and the Inland Rail project, for instance. Now, 4,600 people worked on the Inland Rail project when we were in government. We were only just starting the Parkes to Narromine section—the first section—and then working on Narromine to Narrabri and Beveridge to Albury. All these sections gave hope and opportunity, particularly for Aboriginal people. For some, it was their first job.

What has happened to infrastructure since Labor came to power? They've put a pause on it. Just prior to the 2023 budget, the infrastructure minister said she was going to review all the infrastructure projects over a 90-day period. Some might say, 'Yes, okay,' but that's now 200 days plus! When is that review going to come out, and what is it going to entail? At the moment, what we're seeing with the review is that people are leaving Inland Rail and road projects in droves because councils, states and everybody else just doesn't know.

This side has the audacity to come in here and start talking about jobs, lecturing us about how bad we were when we were in government. Well, I'm quite frankly sick to the back teeth of listening to the Labor dirt unit talking about how bad we were when we were in government. As a government, we stopped the boats. We put in place measures which actually protected lives, because so many people were dying at sea. We put in measures to fix up the mess that Labor had left, and yet then they turn around on this false notion that somehow, some way, we were a bad government.

But, out there, the media might be conned—some of them—but the people aren't. Those people running businesses know that they no longer have an unlimited instant asset write-off. They know that it's capped and they know that it's capped because of the policies brought in by the Labor government. They know that inflation is at record highs, and indeed we only had to look last Tuesday, the first Tuesday in November, to see that, again, the rates that stopped a nation went up. And home mortgages—it is so hard to find a house, to find affordability in the housing market. And what is that side doing? They're talking about everything but what Mr and Mrs Average out there are talking about.

So I say: get out to your electorate, start listening to people—not talking at them like you normally do—get yourselves in operation, get yourselves in line with what normal everyday people are thinking— (Time expired)

Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for the debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.