Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

As I said, President, it's very disappointing that the Liberal Party has not received the memo, because what the Australian people had been saying over and over again, both before and since the election, is what they want in industrial relations is more agreements and less conflict. But what do we continue to see offered up by the opposition, who are still fighting the last war? They want to progress the nine years that we saw of more conflict, fewer agreements, lower wages and lower productivity. What a quadrella that is! If you could go to the races and make a bet on a quadrella and you were a member of the opposition, you would want more conflict, less agreement, lower wages and lower productivity. That is what you bequeathed the Australian people and that is what you continue to want to offer the Australian people.

In terms of wage bargaining, the Albanese Labor government has made a very clear commitment that we will get wages moving in this country. The way we are going to do that is by reaching more agreements. Business and unions agree that we need a new approach. That's why so many of them actually turned up to the summit last week, unlike anyone opposite—up until about that row over there—to actually have a discussion.

Opposition sen ators interjecting—