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

Let's put all this in context. As a percentage of the total wages budget of Australia, these changes will add one-tenth of one per cent of what wages are in Australia. And, unlike what the opposition are saying, this is not a cost to the economy; this is a cost to the small number of businesses that are underpaying their workers by exploiting the loopholes that the last government left. This money won't be taken out of the economy. It will go into workers' pockets, where it belongs, so that they can actually deal with cost-of-living pressures, pay their bills and get up on their feet. Workers who are currently being underpaid will have more money to spend in their local communities, and we support that. (Time expired)