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

I'll tell you what, the things that set you people off! Higher wages, of all the things!

Through our submission to the annual wage review we advocated for a real increase for Australia's lowest-paid workers and the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review's 5.75 per cent increase to awards is the biggest increase in history and will help 2.7 million low-paid workers.

We've also delivered important reforms that are getting wages moving through the secure jobs, better pay bill—opposed by those over there—and we supported the aged-care work value case which delivered a 15 per cent pay increase to some of the hardest-working Australians—something the coalition refused to do.

I have noticed the various comments of Senator Cash, as the IR spokesperson, about these issues. She warned us when passing this legislation last year that it would potentially close down Australia. I don't know. I'm having a look around. It looks pretty open to me. She also said that our changes would take us back to the Dark Ages. I don't think they had iPhones in the Dark Ages, but apparently that's where we're going to end up. (Time expired)