Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator McGrath for the question. It gives me the opportunity to again reaffirm that when we came to government we saw that inflation was high, and it was rising. Under the government he was a part of, real wages were falling, living standards were declining and people were going backwards. Now inflation is a third of what it was at the election and is falling. Real wages are growing again. Living standards are rising again. And we have had the lowest average unemployment rate of any government in 50 years.

I know those opposite might like to think that the creation of more than 1.1 million jobs—the most jobs created on record in a parliamentary term—is a bad thing. I know those opposite have a view that rising wages is not a good thing. We know their position has been that low wages are a design feature of the Australian economy. This is the position they want.

I'm also asked about the cost of living for Australians, and I want to make it very clear: we are absolutely clear that a lot of Australians are finding it really tough, with rising costs of living. That is why we have made it such a priority to provide support and assistance with cost of living. What is amazing to me is that those opposite ask about cost of living as if they care about the cost of living of Australians, when they voted against assistance to Australians to help them with the rising costs of living. Everybody should understand, whenever those opposite ask about cost of living, that they are the party that has voted against cost-of-living relief to working Australians time and time again. That is the truth of what the Liberal Party believes.