Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Fawcett, I appreciate your commentary about the things you hear from South Australians. I also hear from South Australians that the cost of living is a significant issue, and I think we all know that. We're seeing very tough conditions out there. But our primary concern in the government is tackling inflation, because that has an impact across the board. We are looking to deliver strong wages and sustainable wage growth for workers, and we're doing that in a range of ways systemically over the last two years, working towards improving the wages, improving the job prospects and helping people move ahead.

The gender pay gap is something we've been really focused on, and we've made some great headway in that area. Only last week, we announced a 15 per cent increase in the pay of our early childhood educators. They are a critical bunch of people who do a spectacular job. For years and years, they have been pushing for a pay rise, but nothing has been forthcoming. So we're delighted to see that come forward at this point in time, because if we are going to deal with our economy going forwards, we need to be able to support women going back to the workforce. Women still take up the vast majority of responsibilities in terms of staying home with small children.

These measures are making a difference. These measures are absolutely going to make a difference to a person's place in the economy and to how people survive. But there is a whole range of other people that we need to be looking to support, and this government—not you guys, not ever you guys—have advocated for the low-paid workers to the Fair Work Commission. We've managed to achieve some increases in those pay rates—52 per cent in 2022, 8.6 per cent in 2033 and 3.75 per cent in 2024. When we're talking about cost-of-living pressures and about people being able to keep a roof over their head and put food on their table, then one of the critical aspects of that is the wage that they are able to earn.

As for those opposite, it was 48 times that you voted against industrial relations reform. You have never cared about people on low and middle incomes. The top end? Absolutely. They are right up your alley, but they are not the people who are struggling at this point in time. The people who are really struggling are those people who rely on the minimum wage. It's those people who are working in lower paid jobs. That's where we have been focusing to try and ensure that those people can indeed keep a roof over their head and food on the table and have prospects and opportunities to earn more money, to keep more of what they earn and to see a future where they can see jobs not just for themselves—good, well-paid jobs—but for their children and their grandchildren.

Our future that we have plotted out for Australia gives that—growth in jobs and growth in industries. A Future Made in Australia would secure for us a very positive future for the people who are working today, the people who will be working tomorrow and the children of those future generations. It's looking forward, protecting the whole community and moving all of the levers, everything from our fee-free TAFE to lowering medicines and ensuring that Medicare is there for everyone and is all about the health care that you need, not about how much money you have in your pocket. It's looking at the entire economy. Shifting our society to a more future focused, supportive environment is what is going to make a difference. I think that when we talk about the issues on the ground for people, we need to be helping them see the future. We need to be supporting them in the things that they desperately need to make ends meet and to see the future and to see the hope and the prosperity for the direction that the Albanese Labor government has put in place.