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

Thank you, Senator O'Neill. It was good—I don't know if you caught it earlier in question time, but Senator Sharma was recognising that the Albanese government is helping Australians keep more of what they earn. I'm pleased that you're paying attention to what we're saying and that you're now picking up our mantra as well. Maybe you'll come on board and back that kind of thing as well, Senator Sharma, because, unlike Peter Dutton and the coalition, we see strong and sustainable wages growth as part of the solution to the cost-of-living challenge not part of the problem.

We've delivered wage increases while keeping unemployment at record lows, getting more people into jobs and getting inflation to moderate. We do know that people are under pressure and that there's still more to be done, but just imagine how much worse things would be for Australian families if the Liberals and Nationals had their way and those record employment figures and pay rises had never happened. Under those opposite, the unemployment rate averaged 5.6 per cent. We've got it down to 4.2 per cent. It took the coalition their entire wasted decade in office to lift the minimum wage by as much as we have in our first term. Under Labor, you'll earn more and keep more of what you earn.