Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

(—) (): We took our plan to build a stronger economy to the last election, and the Australian people endorsed it. And let me also just correct the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate again. She's wrong when she talks about stagnant wages. Wages are actually growing above inflation. The most recent wages data shows 2.3 per cent wages growth, compared with 1.6 per cent CPI. That is not stagnant wages; that is wages growing above inflation. Yes, we would like wages to grow more strongly, and that will happen, on the back of our agenda to continue to build a stronger, more successful economy. If we want businesses to be able to pay higher wages, we need to ensure that they've got better opportunities to be successful. That is precisely what our government is doing, as the unemployment rate continues to come down. It was headed for 6¼ per cent and beyond when we came into government. The then shadow Treasurer was actually saying that the test would be whether we could keep it below 6¼ per cent; it's down to 5.2 per cent. We will continue to work to get it lower, but the Australian people know that your agenda would have left them— (Time expired)