Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What this government is refusing to do is to commit to a rise in minimum wage levels. Many Australian families are doing it really tough—much tougher than they need to, because this government would rather give tax cuts to the rich than a wage rise to struggling workers. I just want to echo Brendan O'Connor, our shadow minister for employment and workplace relations, who says that if you do not increase the minimum wage then you are ensuring that, in real terms, wages go down, because prices do not stop rising. That is why we need to make sure the minimum wage keeps up with price increases and preferably goes further to address inequality in this country—yes, inequality. That is why Labor is clear that we want to make sure that there is a decent, livable minimum wage, because we care about fairness in this country and we are concerned about inequality.

The Minister for Women today attempted to defend the government's position by arguing that there is no gender pay gap on the minimum wage. Even though women make up the majority of low-paid workers in Australia, it is all good, because they are earning the same low amounts as the minority of men on the minimum wage, because apparently it is not about gender. Perhaps the minister is not aware of the ACTU's report The gender pay gap over the life cycle from last year, which revealed women are financially disadvantaged at every key stage of their lives: in childhood, at the workplace, through pregnancy, through motherhood, as a carer and in retirement. This report also found that women are earning less on average in relation to men than they were 20 years ago. Women earn around $284.20 less per week than men, and 70 per cent of part-time work is undertaken by women.

Evidence from the Census Bureau in the United States shows that, in the states with a high minimum wage, wages growth for women was strong and, in the states where the minimum wage increased in 2015, workers with the lowest incomes—those whose wages were in the bottom 10 per cent—experienced much faster wage growth than those workers in states where no minimum wage change took place. This wage growth was particularly strong for women, who make up two-thirds of low-wage workers in the US.

There is absolutely no doubt that an increase in the minimum wage would address relative living standards and the needs of the low paid. These are workers who are still feeling the very real pain of the decision to cut penalty rates.

In a show of just how out of touch this government truly is, it says, 'Low-paid workers are often found in high-income households.' Go and visit a household in an Alice Springs town camp where I know of working mums supporting up to 10 or more family members all living in the same three-bedroom, one-bathroom home. Go and visit a family in a remote community where you can pay up to $9 for a lettuce and tell a young person working on a minimum wage there that they do not deserve a pay rise.

The Northern Territory is certainly a wonderful place to live, but it is not an inexpensive place to live, and that is the reality. It is tough for low-income workers, and it is about to get tougher with the GST cuts affecting the Territory's budget. Young Territorians in particular are going to find it tough. A decent increase in the minimum wage would mean an enormous amount to low-income earners. A strong minimum wage helps close the gap between rich and poor; it provides a much-needed economic boost; it means people have more money to spend; and it certainly assists small business and drives local economies.

Question agreed to.