Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying: pursuant to the order agreed to earlier today concerning the national minimum wage, I now call the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.

(Quoru m formed)

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

Our government is acting to boost wages and close the gender pay gap to help workers with cost-of-living pressures, with no thanks at all to the opposition. Our values have not changed. The Albanese government will always stand up for workers. Let's pause for a minute and remember the coalition's legacy when it comes to wages, which is the subject of this debate.

While in power, the coalition refused to make a submission to the aged-care work value case. Senator Cash, as the then minister, and all of her colleagues have never met workers they thought had any value whatsoever, let alone in the aged-care sector. The former government refused to argue that the wages of low-paid workers shouldn't even go backwards, in their annual wage review submission. This was a major issue heading into the last election. We repeatedly called on the government of the day to make a submission to the annual wage review that at least said that workers' wages shouldn't go backwards, but they wouldn't even do that. As we all remember, one of the key policies of the former government was low wage growth; it was a deliberate design feature of their economic architecture.

For the coalition, there never seems to be a good time for a wage increase for workers. Under the coalition, Australian workers were told: 'Wait for low unemployment and then you'll get a pay rise. Wait for productivity increases and then you'll get a pay rise.' Of course, it never happened. We had falling unemployment—no pay rises, no real wage growth. We had productivity increases—no real wage growth. Under the coalition's watch, workers saw the slowest sustained pace of wages growth in Australia's postwar history, averaging just 2.1 per cent in nominal wages growth over its almost 10 years in government. The coalition voted no on the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022. They opposed it before they'd even read it. The coalition said no before they'd even read a bill that was about delivering secure jobs and better pay to Australian workers. Do you know why they were willing to do so before they'd even read the bill? It was because they were scared off by the name of the bill—'secure jobs, better pay'. There is nothing more anathema to the coalition parties of this country than those two concepts. As soon as they'd read the words, the coalition ran a mile and said they wouldn't support the bill.

If we look back at the various statements made by members of the coalition, we can see where they stand on wages and the annual wage review. Those opposite have a track record of saying no to anything that will push up workers' wages. As I say, the former finance minister and former leader of the government of the day in the Senate, Mathias Cormann, described low wage growth as 'a deliberate design feature of our economic architecture'. When the now Prime Minister, Mr Albanese, declared his support for an increase to the minimum wage, Mr Morrison, the then Prime Minister, labelled Mr Albanese 'reckless and dangerous'. I think it's all been recorded that that was a pretty decisive moment in the election campaign, when Australians saw what the coalition were about and they saw that there was only one party that was serious about delivering the wage rises that Australian workers deserve.

In Mr Angus Taylor's statements in September last year on multi-employer bargaining, he opposed it because:

It pushes up wages and pushes up prices … This is a bad place to go … what we saw coming out of that job summit was fuel on the inflationary fire.

Of course it's not true to say there has to be a connection between increasing wages and inflation. In fact, I see that the most recent figures show that inflation is beginning to make to come down a little bit, which is a good thing. But yet again we see opposition from the coalition to the concept of wage rises. Of course, their leader, Mr Dutton, said in response to the Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill that he was 'deeply concerned' that this bill was 'going to result in higher wages'. That was their objection to the Secure Jobs, Better Pay bill—that it might, after 10 years of workers being denied real wage growth, do something about wage growth.

We make no apologies, as a Labor government, for standing up for the interests of workers and standing up for their need to get a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. That's why our government is acting to get wages moving and close the gender pay gap. In the first six months the Albanese government delivered the strongest jobs growth for any new Australian government on record. Gender equality and women's economic security is at the heart of the government's agenda. We amended the Fair Work Act to put gender equality at the centre of the Fair Work Commission's decision-making. We have asked the Fair Work Commission to ensure that it considers the impact of its annual wage decision on these objectives.

Unlike the opposition, who had a decade to get wages moving while in government, the Labor government under Prime Minister Albanese has not wasted a day in standing up for workers. In our first week in government, we made a submission to the Annual Wage Review to argue that low-paid workers should not go backwards. We've used existing structures to back workers and their wages—structures that were already in place under the former government but were never used by them to this effect. We made a submission to the Annual Wage Review, which, of course, delivered a 5.2 per cent pay rise for the low-paid last year. This year we will again argue that low-paid workers should not go backwards. Our government's values have not changed. We will always stand up for the needs of working people in this country. As I've already said, with the aged-care case, we made a submission arguing that aged-care workers are undervalued on gender grounds. As a result of that and the decisions that followed, on 1 July 250,000 aged-care workers will get a pay rise of 15 per cent, meaning $3.40 more per hour for the lowest-paid direct care workers. These are good things for workers and these are good things for the economy, because people who have more money in their pocket can actually spend more and pay the bills that they face every day and every week.

We've changed the law in a range of other ways to back workers and their wages: stronger gender pay equity laws, better access to flexible working arrangements, gender equality and job security as objects of the Fair Work Act, and improving our bargaining system for workers and employers. These laws are already working. The most recent Fair Work Commission data shows that there were 476 workplace agreements lodged in December 2022, 50 per cent more than in July 2022. There are employers who are now back at the bargaining table who haven't bargained in years. That's delivering certainty for employers and better pay for workers.

We're now moving on to changing the law to close a range of loopholes that were left by the former government. We're now consulting on our election commitment to deliver same job same pay, particularly for labour hire workers; to address the situation faced by employee-like workers; and to deliver fair minimum standards for gig economy workers. We're also tackling wage theft. We are acting to close loopholes, we're boosting wages, we're closing the gender pay gap and we're easing cost-of-living pressures, and to each one of these things the opposition just says no.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just before I call anyone: Senator Shoebridge, I have reflected and I apologise. I did read the question, but I forgot to call the vote. My sincere apologies, and I won't blame late sitting nights. I slipped up. Sorry, Senator Shoebridge.

David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Acting Deputy President, what I was truly offended by were your comments directed to me while I was seeking the advice of the Deputy Clerk, and I'd ask you to categorically apologise for those comments.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You've got a categorical apology from me, yes, and I mean that. I apologise. Is there anything I should add, Senator Shoebridge?

David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can indicate I never had that level of discourtesy before from a chair in my time in the Legislative Council, and I hope to never see it again from you as a deputy chair in this chamber. I felt unsafe in the workplace, and I felt it coming from the chair. I would ask you to reflect seriously on your conduct because it was totally out of order. But I otherwise accept what I understand to be your apology.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have reflected, Senator Shoebridge. Thank you for that.

Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

Isn't it amazing to see that we've got a situation where we've got those opposite raising the issue of the minimum wage because these are the same people that had a design feature of keeping wages down in this country. They went to the extent of having the case where workers were seeking a $1 an hour wage increase in the minimum wage, and they opposed it. When it came to job security and pay and the arrangements to turn around to make sure we had wages moving in this country, they opposed it because they have always been about making sure they can keep wages as low as they possibly can. What we've seen, case after case, is how it's inherently part of their make-up. It is in their DNA right across the opposition. Even more recently, when I was in a cost-of-living committee hearing on 1 March, we heard from Senator Hume, the shadow finance minister when I asked questions of the major supermarkets, who have had soaring profits during this period of inflation. We've seen Woolworths post a 25 per cent rise in profits. Coles posted a net profit that grew by 11 per cent. And Senator Hume said that the issue of raising issues with those particular retailers and retailers like them was inappropriate, when you talk about the cost of living and wages in the context of those real retailers. Quite clearly, when you're looking at wages in this country, you need to be looking at all the effects that the previous government's legislation had on the cost of living.

That's why we've turned around and made so many important changes. As I said, we supported the $1 an hour increase in the minimum wage, an increase that supported both men and women in low-paid roles, but 55 per cent of those workers in low-paid roles are women. It was opposed by those opposite. You see it in the various issues that have been brought up in the cost-of-living inquiry, as touched on before. We saw those opposite say that their view is that the wages factor in the cost of living is irrelevant, that it is inappropriate to ask some of the most profit-taking corporations in this country about what's happening with their wages and the cost of living for their workforce and other workers across the economy. They said it was inappropriate because they don't think that people's wages have anything to do with the cost of living. It is all about profit-taking. In fact, did they ask questions about profit-taking? No, they asked about the price of eggs, the comparison between barn eggs and cage eggs and free-range eggs. They said this was an inappropriate way of pushing the cost of living. My goodness—I was in an inquiry about the cost of living, and we were talking about the difference between barn egg prices and cage egg prices and free-range egg prices, rather than talking about the issue that's actually at the heart of one of the biggest problems we have across this country, and that is the cost-of-living pressure on our family budgets.

I want to go what to the history of those opposite has been because, during the election campaign, the then Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, was asked by the now Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, if all workers deserved to be paid the minimum wage. The Prime Minister refused to say yes. When asked a question about the pay rates and the minimum wage being paid to gig workers and food delivery workers—the workers who turned around and were some of the heroes of the pandemic, delivering to households that were in isolation and putting themselves at high risk—and some of the lowest-paid workers and underpaid workers in this country, he could not say that he supported the minimum wage being paid.

That's in their DNA. We've got the shadow minister for finance saying that the cost of living isn't a wage based issue either. We've got them opposing the $1-an-hour increase to the minimum wage. We've got them opposing legislation to get wages moving again through the secure jobs package. We've got the previous Prime Minister saying the minimum wage being paid to food delivery workers and gig workers is inappropriate. And, of course, as I talked about— (Time expired)

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise to take note of the minister's statement. Isn't it interesting that, despite all the rhetoric we heard from the minister, on behalf of the minister for workplace relations, the bad news for Australians is: their wages are still going backwards. And despite all the political rhetoric we heard in relation to cost of living, Australians, when it comes to cost of living, are still struggling.

The Labor Party made a number of promises to the Australian people prior to the election. You'd actually think, based on the statement that was given by the minister—and even, I have to say, the taking-note that Senator Sheldon did in response—that everything was okay, that electricity prices weren't going up, that interest rates weren't going up, that inflation hadn't soared. In fact you'd almost believe that they were getting wages moving, as they promised the Australian people prior to the election. But, as we know, Labor are very good at spinning the narrative. Sometimes when you're spinning the narrative people forget to check behind what's really going on.

Let's have a look at what's really going on. We saw with the wage price index figures last month that the promises that Labor make—worse than that, the political rhetoric that has just been given in this chamber does not stack up not only to the promises that were made by the Albanese government prior to the election but also to the statement that's just been made in the Senate. This is the reality: Australians are seeing a real wage cut under the Albanese Labor government. Despite what they said before the election, that they would get wages moving, that they would make sure Australians were not going backwards—let's now talk about that in the cold light of day. Let's shine some sunlight on the reality that Australians are experiencing. Their wages are going backwards.

Here are the statistics. The level of wage growth in the economy is far below the level of inflation. Australians will tell you that. Guess what? Every time they walk into a supermarket they buy the exact same basket of goods as they did the previous week and the previous month, yet they know, when the person at the checkout says 'This is your bill', that their bill is getting higher. They also know that when they've received their energy bill, despite the promise prior to the election that their energy bill would be reduced by $275—forget about $275; their energy bills are now far in excess of what they used to be.

The level of wage growth in our economy, despite all the rhetoric, despite all the promises by those in the Albanese government, is now far below the level of inflation. Guess what? That's because of the policy decisions the Albanese government are making. They want everybody to see the headline: 'We will promise to get wages moving', 'We'll make sure Australians don't go backwards'. Yet what did the December quarter figures show?

They show the wage price index was 3.3 per cent and the CPI was 7.8 per cent. That is not getting wages moving. That is not ensuring that Australians don't go backwards.

Let's look at the reality versus the rhetoric. The December figures showed the largest real wage decline in a 12-month period on record. Despite the rhetoric and what you heard from those on the other side, under the previous coalition government we saw real wage increases. Why? Because of the decisions that we made. We backed in employers to prosper, to grow and to create more jobs for Australians. In doing that they could provide wage rises to Australians. Despite the rhetoric, Labor are failing. Based on their decisions, they'll continue to fail.

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to contribute to this debate as well. I deeply respect Senator Sheldon and everything he has done in the industrial relations space, but the reality does not reflect Senator Sheldon's rhetoric with respect to real wage growth. I refer to an article written by Shane Wright, an outstanding economics journalist, in the Sydney Morning Heraldon 22 February 2023 entitled 'Australians hit by largest fall in real wages on record'. That is what it says—'Australians hit by largest fall in real wages on record'.

Someone who I suspect cares very deeply about this issue and whose words should be carefully reflected on is quoted in that article. The article quotes this person on the reality of real wage growth under a Labor Albanese government. Bear in mind that this was on 22 March 2023, some nine months after the federal election. So nine months after there was a change in government, this person with an intense interest in real wages said:

"This is the greatest drop in workers' real pay in recorded history …

Who was this person? Sally McManus, the ACTU Secretary. That's what she said nine months after a Labor government came in with promises of real wage growth. She said:

"This is the greatest drop in workers' real pay in recorded history …

How's that? How's that for not meeting a promise? She said:

"This is the greatest drop in workers' real pay in recorded history …

Callam Pickering is also quoted in the same article. He's not a politician. He is the Asia-Pacific economist with the job website Indeed. Mr Callam Pickering, who is not a politician—no rhetoric here, just facts—is quoted as saying:

"Adjusted for inflation, Australian wages have fallen by 4.2 per cent over the past year and by 6.8 per cent since their peak."

"More than a decade—

and that would be the decade under the coalition government—

of hard-won wage gains—our blood, sweat and tears—lost over the course of just one year.

And nine of those 12 months of that one year were under the Labor Albanese government, which promised real wage growth. Those opposite can come in with rhetoric, but the Australian workers understand what the real position is with respect to real wages. Again I'll quote Sally McManus, Secretary of the ACTU. She said in March 2023:

"This is the greatest drop in workers' real pay in recorded history …

That was the Secretary of the ACTU nine months after the Albanese Labor government was elected. I can't put it in any better words.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What we know about Labor is that when they enter the room the truth leaves the room at the same time, and that's no more so when it comes to election promises and no more so when it comes to telling the truth to the Australian people about not only the cost of living but also when it comes to your wages. What we've seen with the Labor government since the election has been a consistent streak of breaking promises.

The greatest bing-bong, the greatest blunder, of this Labor government was their promise prior to the election that they would cut your power bills by $275. How many times do you think they made that promise before the last election?

An opposition senator: Tell us!

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ten times!

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm going to take some bids here, ladies and gentlemen. I've a 10 from Senator Cash. Do I have any higher bids? Any higher bids?

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thirty-five!

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thirty-five! Thirty-five from Senator Scarr. Anyone higher? I'm taking bids.

Senator Cox, I can't hear you! Interjections are always disorderly, but I did hear someone say—

Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ninety-seven times!

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ninety-seven times! Sold. Sold. Sold. Senator Askew wins by guessing correctly that the Labor government promised 97 times before the last election that they would cut your power bills.

What is interesting about this chamber is it's often not what is said in the chamber, as interesting as that can be sometimes. What is more interesting is what is not said in this chamber. There are three numbers, and when you put them together, they become one large number. There are three numbers that have not been said in this chamber since the election by a member of the Labor Party. It's like they've taken a secret blood oath, or maybe a spit oath—I don't know what type of oath they take in the Labor Party—where they've all agreed in their caucus meeting, where they've all held hands and done a little dance, and said, 'We will not say these three figures in the chamber.'

For the decorum of this chamber, I will not run an auction on what people might think those figures are, but I am going to say those figures. You will not hear a member of the Labor Party say the number 2, you will not hear a member of the Labor Party say the number 7, you will not hear a member of the Labor Party say the number 5 and I will bet a year's worth of eggs from my chooks on my farm that they will never, ever say 275 together.

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They're all roosters!

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They're not all roosters! There are no roosters on my farm. Roosters cause you trouble, by the way—they get 'em pregnant and ruin the eggs. The issue here is that the Labor senators will not say 275. Do you know why?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Because they broke a promise.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Cash—'they broke a promise.' This is where I lower my voice, which I know people like, and I get very serious—it's like telling a bedtime story—and the reason why is because the Labor Party are embarrassed. They are embarrassed because they know that they misled the Australian people at the last election. The Labor Party misled them about so many issues, but the clunker, the massive one, is to do with the cost of living and the cost of your power bills. When they come in here and they've been asked questions by I think nearly everybody on the front bench, the middle bench and the backbench—all the benches on this side of the chamber; we've all asked questions to the Labor ministers—about the 275 figure, none of them say anything.

It's really fascinating actually. It's an exercise in human nature, that when we ask a question about the power bills the relevant minister gets up and starts fumbling away, like Inspector Clouseau on steroids, and what you see is that the Labor backbenchers immediately pick up their phones and become really interested in watching cat videos and things like that. It is fascinating. All the heads go down, like this, like they're doing a giant prayer towards all of us, which is brilliant, like we're minor deities. But we are compared to these people when it comes to keeping our election promises. We keep our election promises because we're on the side of the Australian people, whereas the Labor Party are only on the side of themselves. The Labor Party are only on the side of themselves, making sure that they scutter around the blue carpet like Dyson vacuum cleaners being very excited around this building, but where are they when it comes your wages? Where are they when it comes to standing up on your side?

They're not. They have forgotten about Australian families and Australian workers and shame on them. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.