Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Mark Bishop for his question and for his interest in these issues. The wages price index released yesterday was very reassuring. It showed contained wages growth across the entire economy, including the private sector. The index increased by 1.1 per cent in the September quarter, with a 3.5 per cent increase over the year to the end of September. This is good news on a number of fronts, as it shows that the Australian economy is recovering at a sustainable pace and that workers are sharing in the benefits. In particular, far from showing a wages break-out, as some have claimed, these figures demonstrate the continuing recovery from the global economic downturn. Indeed, similar annual wages outcomes were recorded during the economic recovery of 2000-01.

Yesterday’s wage figures are in line with long-term historical trends, in line with official inflation forecasts and in line with market expectations. It is also important to note that yesterday’s figures reflect the impact of this year’s minimum wage decision, which awarded $26 per week from 1 July. That decision provided low-wage Australian workers with a much deserved pay rise after their pay had been frozen for two years.

In spite of these encouraging figures, the government has always been vigilant regarding the pressures that would emerge across the economy through this recovery. That is why we announced the Skills for Sustainable Growth package in the 2010 budget. This package of measures invested more than $660 million to address the skills challenges facing Australia. It sought to bring in a number of measures such as the Critical Skills Investment fund, Smarter Apprenticeships, increased support for language literacy and numeracy, and a number of measures to improve the quality of VET training. After the Howard government’s failure to invest in skills, the Gillard government is boosting skills so that Australians are equipped for the high-paying, high-skilled jobs of the future.