Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday we saw some great news out of the Fair Work Commission. The commission backed the government's call for a pay rise for Australian workers—2.6 million workers on the minimum wage will see a 3.75 per cent increase to their award wages. With inflation expected to be below three per cent in the second half of the year, this represents a real wage rise for these workers. Make no mistake, this is a decision which comes as a direct result of the Albanese Labor government backing working Australians.

Unfortunately, not everyone in this chamber wants the lowest-paid Australians to get a pay rise. From the response of those opposite to the commission's decision yesterday, you'd think the sky was falling in. Shadow Finance minister Senator Hume said, 'This is bad news for Australians.' They really haven't changed their spots, have they? They still believe in keeping wages low as a deliberate design feature of the economy. Well, this government is different. We back Australian workers. As a result of yesterday's decision, those workers will earn more. In just under a month's time, those workers—every single one of them—will be keeping more of what they earn as well, with our bigger and better tax cuts. That's what you get when you elect a Labor government, because we want Australians to earn more and keep more of what they earn.