Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, I do agree with the governor on those comments, but I would also draw Senator Patterson's attention to the comments that the governor has been making for some time about wages growth essentially being a handbrake on the economy and advocating for sustainable and sensible wages growth, which we haven't seen now for a decade, and that is a problem in the economy. So, yes, the governor is right to raise concerns around having wages rise exponentially and out of control, but that is not what we are seeing in this country. The problems with inflation are not being driven by wages, because wages haven't been moving anywhere because it was a deliberate design feature of those opposite to keep them suppressed and, at best, stagnant. We have to find the balance. We need sustainable, sensible wages growth for working people—