Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I'll take some of the interjections from Senator Hume and Senator McGrath while you were asking your question, Senator Polley, because they were trying to make the argument that, if you go after employers, you don't have jobs. The problem with their argument is that not only has our government lifted wages but more jobs have been created in this parliamentary term than in Australian history. Four out of five of those jobs have been in the private sector.

Your problem is that your whole argument is not backed up by a single fact. Under the Albanese government, because of the changes we've made, wages are up, jobs are up, inflation is down, industrial action is down and productivity is going up. That's what a Labor government has done through our workplace laws, and you want to rip that all away. You want workers' wages to go backwards, and you want unemployment to rise because you don't care about working people. None of you ever come and meet with workers like Martin, Nabin and Rosemary, a retail worker, and hear about the difference those wages are making to their lives. You want to look after big businesses; we're looking after workers. (Time expired)