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

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Senator Watt. Is the current rate of real wages growth positive or negative?

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

I'm very pleased to be able to advise the chamber that, under the Albanese government, wages are increasing at a level we have not seen for a very long time—over a decade, in fact. Over the whole decade that the Morrison government was in power, it did not reach the level of wage growth that is occurring in our country. We know that inflation is continuing to have an effect on Australians' cost of living, and that's exactly why we've taken the steps that we have to address the cost of living, such as the ones that Senator Gallagher was talking about: cheaper medicines, cheaper child care, fee-free TAFE places and, most importantly, the energy price relief that the Albanese government delivered late last year, which was opposed by every single member opposite. That's what the Albanese government is doing on the cost of living.

But we recognise that this job is not done, and we recognise that Australians are doing it tough at the moment. That's why we will continue to take action on cost of living, and that's why we'll continue to take action on wage growth as well. Let's not forget that, unlike the coalition government, this government made a submission to the Fair Work Commission supporting a pay rise for aged-care workers. Unlike the former government, this government made a submission supporting a decent increase to the minimum wage, and, of course, late last year, this government, against the opposition of the coalition, passed legislation which was designed to get wages moving again by giving—

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

President, I raise a point of order on the standing order related to the direct relevance of an answer. I raise this point of order particularly about the direct relevance. This chamber, early in my career, made a change to standing orders that went from requiring relevancy to requiring direct relevancy. This question could not have been a more narrowly or precisely worded question. It was 11 words long, and it asked the minister, very clearly, whether the current rate of real wages growth was positive or negative. I accept that he has been broadly relevant to the question, but I contest he is not being directly relevant to the question, and I invite you to draw him to be directly relevant to the question.

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

Thank you, Senator Birmingham. I will draw the minister to the question.

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

I think it's an established fact that wages growth is not keeping up with inflation at the moment. That is not news. That is in every newspaper that you care to read. But that is not something that this government wants to see go on, and, as I say, nominal wages are growing at a higher rate than we ever saw under the coalition government. That's because, unlike the coalition, we didn't have low wages as a deliberate design feature of our economic strategy.

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

Senator Birmingham, first supplementary?

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

On 3 June last year, the Albanese government made a submission, which the minister has referenced, to the Fair Work Commission's Annual Wage Review that said:

… the Government recommends that the Fair Work Commission ensures that the real wages of Australia's low-paid workers do not go backwards.

Minister, will the government make the same recommendation in its submission this year?

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

Thank you, Senator Birmingham. Of course, I'm not in a position to reveal what will be in this government's submission on the next minimum wage case. But it is the government's policy to continue to make sure that we get wages moving again. As I say, it stands in great contrast to the former government, who had a deliberate design feature of keeping wages low and who never achieved the nominal wage growth that we've managed to achieve just in the last few months that we've been in office.

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

Senator Birmingham, second supplementary?

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

nator BIRMINGHAM (—) (): During the lead-up to the election, Prime Minister Albanese consistently promised to ensure that the wages of Australians don't go backwards. The now minister for employment said, 'The new government does not want to see Australian workers go backwards.' This minister, this question time, has been able to rule in and out budget measures, and yet he won't give any indication as to what the Fair Work Commission submission will say. Minister, isn't it true that Australian workers are going backwards, you won't promise to stop them from going even further backwards and, just like your promises of lower electricity prices, you're breaking your promise— (Time expired)

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

Thank you, Senator Birmingham, for giving me another opportunity to confirm how strongly the Albanese government is committed to getting wages moving again. That's why we're taking action to ensure that wages are increased, by making submissions to the Fair Work Commission that your government was never prepared to do.

Hon. Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Minister Watt, please resume your seat. Order on my left! Despite the minister having quite a resonating, loud voice in here, I am struggling to hear.

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

Thank you, President, I'll take that as a compliment. This government, unlike the former government, is taking action to get wages moving again. It is passing laws, opposed by the 'no-alition', to do so, making submissions to the Fair Work Commission that the 'no-alition' never was prepared to do and, of course, taking action on cost-of-living relief, with cheaper medicines, cheaper child care and energy price relief that was yet again opposed by—guess who?—the 'no-alition'.