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

Thanks again, Senator Grogan. Workers covered by enterprise agreements benefit from better pay and conditions, and employers with enterprise bargaining benefit from better productivity and conditions that properly reflect the specific needs of their enterprise. Our government of course inherited an enterprise bargaining system that was on life support, and our Secure Jobs Better Pay reforms have brought employers and workers back to the bargaining table—many employers who have not even been at the bargaining table for many years, including some of the big banks.

We've also made enterprise bargaining accessible to those who've been locked out from its benefits—critical sectors like early childhood education and aged care. Again, the shadow industrial relations minister, Senator Cash, at the time said, 'There is nothing in the bill that is going to assist raising wages'—bah-bowwwh! Yet again, Senator Cash gets it wrong, as she so often does.

Well, Senator Cash and the rest of the coalition, I'm proud to say that Australian workers will now get a 5.7 per cent pay increase at the lowest level, with the Fair Work Commission acknowledging the importance of this legislation. (Time expired)