Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations said recently in Gladstone:

People will be seeing in their bank accounts what the change of government means. People will be seeing in their bank accounts a wage increase …

Can the minister guarantee that there will always be real wage growth under an Albanese Labor government?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the shadow minister for finance on her position and thank her for the question. It is somewhat surprising that I would get a question like this this early on from those opposite. Let's not forget: a deliberate design feature of their economic architecture was to ensure low wages or no wage growth for a decade. I think since we've come to government we have been clear that getting wages moving is part of our economic plan. We have this challenging set of circumstances where the price of everything is going up and people's wages have been going back for the last decade, essentially, under your government's economic architecture. We have a job to do; there is no doubt about that. And getting wages moving is a key part of our economic plan, as is dealing with the decade of wasted opportunities and wrong priorities like a failure to land an energy policy, which is placing upward pressure on bills that people are feeling in their pocket.

So, yes, we have provided a submission to the minimum wage case. That has handed down a wage outcome for those on the minimum wage. We have supported that, something that never featured in your submissions to the Fair Work Commission when you were in government—not once. In fact, you had a whole section on the importance of low-paid workers in the economy. That's how far you went. We are absolutely determined to get wages moving. If you listen to the media reports and the questions of the Treasurer—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam President, it's very difficult to answer when you're getting yelled at.

The:

Senator Gallagher, resume your seat, please. No, Senator Hume, she hasn't finished her answer. I've sat the minister down because I'm having difficulty hearing her answer. Please continue, Minister Gallagher.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much. We're getting wages moving to assist households to deal with the increased cost of living, particularly the inflation challenge that we're dealing with— (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hume, a supplementary question?

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given the minister has refused to guarantee real-wage growth, and the Treasurer's economic update predicting that real wages are, in fact, falling, does the minister stand by the previous statement of the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations that it's not a recovery if people's wages are effectively going backwards?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have inherited a very challenging set of economic challenges from those opposite as a result of nine years of wasted opportunities, wrong priorities and a former government that was determined to make sure that people's wages went backwards. We have come in dealing with higher-than-expected inflation, and we are determined to get wages moving by submissions to the Fair Work case and by supporting wage claims like those of aged-care workers that are currently before the Fair Work Commission. These are the things that a government can do: it can help to shape the policies that deliver wage outcomes for people. We do want them to get moving, but we are facing—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, resume your seat.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order on direct relevance—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Birmingham, you stand and then I give you the call, and then you start. You started to speak as you were rising. Please start now.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry, President, I was trying to be efficient in the use of time. A point of order on direct relevance. The minister has been asked very clearly about a quote attributed to one of her ministerial colleagues and whether she stands by that quote. She has now for some 49 seconds talked around and about the broad topic but has not come directly to the quote.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the supplementary question there were references to other ministers and a real-wage increase guarantee. I believe that the minister is being relevant, but I will continue to listen carefully. Please continue, Minister Gallagher.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can assure the Senate that every single minister in the Albanese Labor Government is focused on ensuring that we ease the cost of living on households, that we get wages moving and that we deal with nine years of— (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hume, a second supplementary question?

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer recently said that there is no credible economic forecaster in Australia right now who thinks that wages growth is going to keep up with inflation. Does the minister agree with the Treasurer that the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations isn't a credible source when it comes to wages, and isn't it true that an Albanese government has already broken its promise on real-wage growth?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I honestly cannot believe the gall of those opposite in talking about real-wage growth when a deliberate design feature of their economic architecture was to suppress wages. The reason we're in the position where we haven't had real-wage growth is because they, when in government, were determined to put pressure on wages growth and make sure there wasn't any.

Every minister in this government is focused on making sure Australians get more money in their pockets, whether it be through child care, reducing energy prices, getting wages growing or training for the high-skilled jobs of the future. These are the areas where government can make a difference. We've hit the ground running. We're doing the work that you lot didn't do for the past nine years.