Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'll agree with you on one point, Senator Roberts, and that is that the people of Australia are waking up to the cost-of-living crisis. In fact, they woke up a long time ago. They realise how hard it is now to pay their bills. They realise how hard it is to keep food on the table and to keep their kids going to the local sporting events, and that has been on this government's watch.

One of the things I've done very regularly in this place is stand up and counter the spin from that side on real wages. It goes on and on, and we heard it again today from Senator Polley. This is a government that's addicted to spin, particularly on this issue, so I'm going to put the facts on the record again—that is very important.

The last coalition period of government delivered real wage increases to Australian families. The Labor government under Anthony Albanese has delivered real wage decreases—real wage declines. Your take-home pay might be going up but your real buying power is going down. How can I prove this? How can I say this? It is published by the ABS every six months. This is on the record. The fact that those opposite keep saying what is a complete and utter untruth is reflective of them and of how much this Labor government is addicted to spin. For the sake of those listening and for the sake of the Hansard record, I am going to read out the real wage increases delivered under the coalition government: 0.2 per cent; than there was a slight decline, negative 0.7 per cent; then a one per cent real wage increase; 0.5 per cent; minus 0.1 per cent; 1.2 per cent plus; 0.7 per cent plus; negative 0.1 per cent; 0.4 plus; 0.6 plus; 0.5 plus; 1.5 plus; 1.4 plus; a 5.2 per cent real wage increase in the May 2020 six-month period; then positive 2.3 per cent in November 2020. And then—guess what—COVID struck. The impact of COVID struck and there were declines in real wages in the last short period of the coalition government.

By contrast, what has the Labor Party delivered in real wages? It has delivered minus 4 per cent; minus 4.1 per cent; and minus 2 per cent. Real wages are going down under this Labor government. Real wages increased in the last period of the coalition government. Don't believe the spin from those opposite. It is a complete mistruth, a complete rewriting of history. I challenge those opposite not to stand up again and say the mistruth, because they shouldn't do it. You should not stand up in this place knowing that what you're about to say is not true. The facts are clear. They're on the record; they're from the ABS. So unless you're going to stand up in here and say the ABS is lying, then you should not keep making this false claim about coalition governments not delivering real wage increases. Coalition governments do deliver real wage increases. Labor governments, or at least this Labor government, deliver declines in real wages. That's why this MPI by my friend and colleague Senator Dean Smith is so important. Holding governments to account is what oppositions do and holding this government, addicted to spin and to mistruths, is so important.

The coalition has proven that it can deliver for the people of Australia, particularly in terms of wages and in terms of ensuring that their standards of living are on the increase in a sustainable way over a long period of time. Real wage increases must be sustainable. Businesses cannot increase wages absent productivity improvements and absent improvements to their businesses' bottom lines.