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

Thanks to Senator Walsh, who, like so many people on this side of the chamber, has devoted her working life to supporting the interests of low-paid workers. Senator Walsh knows that the Albanese government's No. 1 priority is addressing inflation and cost-of-living pressures. We know a lot of people are doing it tough, and that is why each and every day we are working to ensure that Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn. From 1 July, Labor's tax cuts for more taxpayers will help make that happen.

But the other way we can ensure workers can deal with cost-of-living pressures is to get wages moving again, to ensure that workers earn enough to provide for their loved ones and get ahead. Our workplace relations reforms are helping low-paid workers who are doing it the toughest. Today we announced that the Albanese government's submission to the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review, which impacts 2.9 million workers relying on awards, will recommend that real wages of Australia's low-paid workers should not go backwards. People with the lowest wages have least capacity to deal with rising prices, and we want to ensure that their wages keep pace. That is why we've backed in low-paid workers every year at the Fair Work Commission. What a pleasant change that occurred after the change of government. As a result of this change to the Albanese Labor government the minimum wage under our government has increased by 5.2 per cent in 2022 and 8.6 per cent in 2023. Now a full-time minimum wage worker, like a cleaner or retail worker, is earning $110 more per week since Labor took office.

We know the opposition have consistently voted against better wages, secure jobs and closing the gender pay gap, so it's no surprise that today they still can't bring themselves to support our actions. They spent 10 years keeping wages low as a deliberate design feature of their economic policy, and they're still at it today.